Adventures in Homemaker Land

Today's Adventure

2012-02-06T22:35:00.005-06:00

Caleb and I needed some Mom and Me time today. So I excused him from school and we went out and had an adventure for the day! First stop, Vertical Endeavors--an indoor rock climbing facility. I've been wanting to try this for a long time but couldn't find any adult to go with me. It popped into my head this morning and I KNEW that Caleb would love it. And he did. This may end up being a new sport for him. I did try it several times and made it about 1/4 of the way up the wall in my video. This is a very hard sport!!! Caleb got the hang of it pretty quick and he made the summit of 8 different walls during our visit. Each one is labeled with a scaling difficulty. Caleb was able to do some of the more advanced climbs after just an hour or so. But after 3 hours of climbing he was finally tired out. We went out for lunch to Swede Hollow Cafe. It was great. Then home @3pm to await Katie's return from school. A good time was had by all.

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Opera Slideshow

2012-02-06T21:11:00.004-06:00

Here's a slideshow of our first night at the MN Opera.

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True Love

2012-02-03T08:32:00.007-06:00

True love isn't the mushy stuff. It's the day in, day out choices we make in how we treat each other. This week has been one test after another for my dear husband Matt and, as always, he's passed with flying colors.

So prior to Christmas Matt got an email deal from the MN Opera--3 tickets to 3 different Opera's for just $50. Although I know nothing about Opera I've always wanted to go. We've been theatre go-ers for the whole of our life together, but we've never made it to the Opera. So, being the thoughtful man he is he suggested we buy a pair of tickets and make that our Christmas gift to each other. I was thrilled. Our first performance was Tuesday night. The opera was called "Werther" and it was sung in French with English subtitles projected above the stage. Since this was a big night out for us we both dressed to the hilt--which we soon discovered is not really necessary at the opera. Oh well, we looked good.

The curtain was at 7:30pm so no time for dinner beforehand. Optimistic me figured that surely a good restaurant would still be open in downtown St. Paul after the show where we could have a late dinner and talk. Our seats were up in the nosebleed section of the theatre and they are NOT designed for people with long legs let me tell you! But as for experiencing the performance they were just fine since opera is all about the singing and orchestra music. We were both very excited waiting for the curtain to come up.

Unfortunately, those feelings changed dramatically once the show actually started. The singing was superb, the orchestra was lovely, but man, oh man, the story was sappy and silly. Totally over the top gushy, melodramatic, love story of a male poet and a chick who was already engaged to someone else. In spite of myself I had to laugh out loud a few times at the translation subtitles--OMG so silly! By intermission my knee was so sore due to the cramped seats and I was ready to beat it, but we stayed to the bitter end. And a bitter end it was--15 mins. of a dying scene after the protagonist mortally wounds himself and his true love rushes to his side. Throughout the whole show I kept hearing Elmer Fudd sing "Kill da wrabbit, kill da wrabbit." As we left the theatre I teased Matt by saying (in my best grumpy voice) what I thought he was thinking:

"Well there goes another $100 down the crapper wasted on one of my wife's stupid ideas! And I didn't even get any dinner. Arrrrgh."

My darling husband just gave a pained grin and kept walking. Eventually we found a restaurant that was still serving bar food @10:45pm and we had a yummy, albeit unhealthy, meal of gravy covered french fries and appetizers. So that was Tuesday.

Last night (Thursday) after spending what was left of Matt's paycheck at Sam's Club and Rainbow Foods, I made a healthy dinner with some new recipes. Montreal chicken with shrooms & spinach and a side dish of brussel sprouts with bacon. Matt got home late and the kiddos and I were just sitting down when he came in. The kids all tried the dishes and liked them--even the brussel sprouts. Being the subtle wife I am I said out loud in front of the children, "Of course Dad is going to have some brussel sprouts, you all did." Being the good example he is, Matt took an obligatory serving and choked them down. Poor man!

I managed to leave him alone for the evening while he graded papers. I let the dog out @11:30pm then snuck into bed leaving the let the dog in duty to my dear husband. Matt fell asleep on the couch and came to bed around 1:00am. Around 3:00am I woke up and noticed that the dog was not in or on our bed. Being the overprotective dog mom that I am I immediately concluded that Matt must have left Brady outside in the cold for 3 1/2 hours! I bolted upright, shoved Matt in the shoulder, accused him of dog neglect, and made him get up and find the dog. Matt sprang out of bed and ran out on the deck in his underwear whistling for the dog to come in. The cold air snapped Matt awake and he realized that he HAD let the dog back in the house @11:40pm! He came back to bed, told me as much, then said that Brady was probably down in bed with Josh. Of course, I didn't believe my dear husband so I said in a huff, "Well, since you're obviously not going to check, I will!" So I stomped off downstairs flipped on Josh's light and was relieved to see that Brady, was indeed, snoozing in bed with Josh.

Now, on to this morning. I bought a whole bunch of fresh fruits and vegies to use in our juicer and so I concocted a new drink this morning. 2 Oranges, 1 apple, 1 lemon, 1 beet w/leaves, 1 celery stalk, 4 carrots, 3T agave nectar. It was a lovely color. But flavor? Well, it had beets in it. I offered Matt some juice and he politely refused. My poor husband--opera, french fries covered in gravy for dinner @11:00 at night, brussel sprouts, standing outside in his underwear in the middle of the night, and now this--BEET JUICE!!! WTH? I had to tease him some more and his sweet response was to pull up and play "The Book of Love" video on YouTube. True Love, true love.

WWII Remembrances

2012-01-10T10:07:00.006-06:00

My Dad visited over Christmas break and Josh interviewed him for a History project. Here is the video. I learned all kinds of things about Dad that I didn't know. Some of it pretty funny; and some of it rather anti-PC!

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My New Toy

2011-12-30T12:45:00.006-06:00

Recently I've watched several documentaries on Netflix about the American food industry, the health benefits of organic foods, and how raw produce juices can boost the human immune system which in turn allows your body to heal itself of many chronic diseases. After watching these movies and doing more research, I became very convinced and convicted to make some changes in our family's diet to include more organics and less processed foods. So getting a juicer seemed like a great first step in a healthier direction for us. Some of the movies I've viewed lately: Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead; Food Matters; and Food Inc. All very informative and reasonable. These are all on Netflix instant watch if you want to see them for yourself.

So, my lovely husband gifted me with the Breville Juice Fountain Plus that I requested for Christmas. And today, Caleb and I unpacked and played with my new toy. I am so jazzed to start using this great health booster for our family. After reading the easy directions and cleaning the parts Caleb and I made a yummy apple, carrot and pineapple juice. OMG, it was so super fast to make and it tasted delicious! 3 apples, 2 cups of mini carrots & 1/2 c fresh pineapple made about 2 C of fresh juice. All the kids really liked it. It only took about 1 minute to make and clean up truly was super easy. I'm planning a trip to the grocery store today to buy some more fresh produce. I'd like to start making fresh juice for everyone on school mornings. I think this will be a great health boost and immune builder for all of us as we enter the cold and flu season. I'm excited. And we will save the leftover pulp to mix in to pancake batter, muffins, bread, etc. to add flavor and fiber. I'll keep an update on the flavors that we really like!!

Christmas Recap

2011-12-29T19:01:00.008-06:00

I feel like I've been in a haze for the past two weeks. Starting and completing several creative projects before Christmas, online shopping, wrapping gifts, making menu plans for the Christmas weekend that I would be away, making a trip to Green Bay, helping Mom recover from surgery, hosting my Dad here for several days, and celebrating a delayed Christmas with Matt & the kiddos. My head has been spinning but everything worked out just fine. I was glad to be able to support my mom and sister in Green Bay during Mom's December 23rd surgery. And Matt & the kiddos did just fine with me gone on Christmas Day. We also enjoyed a great visit with my Dad the 26th-this morning. Today I had nothing to do after dropping Dad off at the airport at 7:15am so I happily hunkered down with the kiddos and just played with them today.

Caleb was anxious to show me his new Skylanders game for the Wii. It's quite cute and funny with a fun RPG element to each character, background mythology to the storyline, and cute humor. I like it. It's quite a popular game right now for Wii and Matt thought Katie and Caleb would enjoy it. As is typical, Katie has mostly just been watching Caleb play so she gets a visual feel for how the game works. Once she "gets it" she'll jump in and play. But with most new video games, she likes to observe for a while. I think that helps her not get so frustrated when she actually plays the game herself because she's visually played it through Caleb several times before she actually takes a turn. She's smart and she really knows what works for her and what doesn't.

Caleb & I also listened to one of his new Hank the Cowdog books on CD. I laid on the futon cuddling the dog while listening; Caleb was busy building with his new Thames & Kosmos Physics Workshop kit. We love Hank the Cowdog--the books are hilarious, especially the audio ones that the author, John R. Erickson, reads aloud. We found the Hank books for Josh when he was a new reader and our whole family has loved them. Thames & Kosmos is a new "toy" discovery for us. I don't recall ever seeing this manufacturer when Josh was younger--he would have ATE IT UP!! But, Caleb is really enjoying the building AND learning about science aspects of these kits. If I were still homeschooling I'd invest all my science curriculum $ into buying a bunch of these kits--they are fantastic and fun.

Katie's favorite gift this year is the Bullseye the horse stuffed toy she received from Josh. She has been carrying it around with her since Tuesday.

My Goddaughter Helen came over this afternoon with her art box. So she and Katie sat at the dining table and drew pictures and colored for 2 hours while I read aloud from one of Katie's new books. We ended up starting and finishing her Kirsten Learns a Lesson chapter book. It is an American Girl Doll book and the main character, Kirsten Larsen, immigrates from Sweden to Minnesota in 1854. We started Katie on this book series last Christmas and she seemed to like it. Katie can read these books independently but they are challenging for her. So today I just felt like spending some time with the girls so I had fun reading aloud to them. We stopped occasionally to discuss new vocabulary words and to look intently at the illustrations. That was just as fun for me as for them.

Tonight I plan to watch a movie with Matt & Josh, then off to bed and sleeping in late tomorrow!! Yay!

Gussied Up

2011-12-19T21:52:00.005-06:00

Tonight I attended an area Mary Kay Holiday Party. It's a dress up party with appetizers and desserts. Since I don't have any real dress up clothes I borrowed a lovely gold dress from my adopted Director & friend Becky. I'm in the gold dress, Becky is in the black dress. If I do say so myself, we both look smokin' hot. Not bad for a 48 year old stay at home mom--me. I think I clean up pretty good! The dress was actually very comfortable to wear and since Becky has recently lost 45 lbs. she said I should just keep it. What a fun time tonight.

The Christmas Spirit

2011-12-19T21:44:00.008-06:00

This morning I had the pleasure of listening to Caleb sing with his Moreland Melodies choir group. They sang some nice Christmas carols in the school entryway. Very, very nice. Here's a sample. NOTE: You'll need to click the 1, 2, 3, 4 to advance the photos/videos.

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Medical Day

2011-11-15T22:10:00.005-06:00

Today was medical day. I took Caleb to two different doctor appointments and I had a dentist appointment.

My dentist gave me a sour face and guilt trip talk about my non-flossing habit. So I packed my bags and went on her guilt trip to the Target tooth health aisle. I ended up purchasing the WaterPik Water Flosser that she recommended. We'll see if I use it and if it works as advertised. Katie is not very consistent at brushing her teeth and she can't floss so I thought this would be good for her too. While in the tooth aisle I happened on a bunch of the Crest Whitener items and I loaded up on those too. With any luck, 3 weeks from now my gums will be healthier and I'll have a whiter smile. Yes, I saved the receipts just in case I need to activate the Crest 100% satisfaction guarantee. I'll let you know how that goes.

As for Caleb, as it is turning out he seems to have inherited my sensitive skin. Today he was in early to see our Pediatrician about a pimple turned bleeding nodule thingy on the back of his neck. Our Doc diagnosed it as Infectious Granuloma and he referred us to a dermatologist for removal. Caleb's second little skin issue is these recurring little bumps in his arm pit and under his chin. Doc said that was Molluscum Contagiosum and that it was a viral infection of the skin--on the order of a chicken pox like virus. It tends to come and go in some young children until they build up an immunity to it. Dermatologist could take care of that too.

Much to my relief the scheduler graciously squeezed Caleb in this afternoon. The dermatologist cut & cauterized the granuloma off Caleb's neck without much discomfort. He also put a blistering agent on the molluscum dots. Tonight they sure blistered up and Caleb was itchy and sore. I put him in an collidal oatmeal bath, gave him some ibuprofen, and salved up his dots with caladryl lotion. That seemed to calm down his itchiness and discomfort. Like chicken pox, these dots will scab over and fall off. Until then I plan to keep him home from school.

Although I hate having my kiddos get sick it is a good excuse to baby them a little bit. So prior to Caleb dermatologist appointment this afternoon I also purchased at Target ingredients to make homemade Mac & Cheese as well as a gift for Caleb. The kiddos loved the mac & cheese for dinner. Keeper recipe! After dinner Caleb and I watched the new movie I bought him called "Inkheart." It was very good, very suspenseful and based on a book. It's about characters coming to life out of books and the havoc that ensues. We loved it. Now I need to find a copy of the Inkheart book and read that. Caleb is an avid and advanced reader so maybe Inkheart will find its way on to his Christmas gift list!

While writing this post I was also surfing on WebMd. Some interesting connections are starting to form in my mind now. Caleb also has a bit of eczema on his eyelid that comes and goes. And eczema can sometimes be caused by food allergies. Hmmm. I wonder if Caleb has some kind of food allergy that we've never picked up on. Time to do some more research and start pulling some food from his diet and see what happens. He does seem to be prone to skin rashes and such. Maybe there is a connection to his food?

Food for Thought

2011-11-08T10:54:00.003-06:00

I received this quote, below, in my email today from an acquaintance of mine. I can say from my own personal experience that this is very true. The fruit of my life is so totally different if I am filling my head with positive, uplifting messages throughout the day--scripture, worship music, positive books or movies, etc. When I focus on and fill my head (and fill my days) with current events, news, the stuff on TV or the internet I find myself feeling gloomy, depressed, and just pissed off! Yes, bad things happen every day, people do and say evil, governments can be corrupt--these things have always been true and will remain true until Christ's return. But while I am here on earth I would rather choose to focus on the positive things going on in my life and world and try to positively influence the things I can. Instead of just being negative, why not channel that frustrated energy in to figuring out HOW to change one negative situation for the better. Some things can be changed even a little and it can make a world of difference for someone.

Every thought is a seed. If you plant crab apples, don't plan on harvesting Golden Delicious." ~Bill Meyer~

My friends, the reality is that our thoughts move us into action; and our actions are the primary spark plug for our results in life. I firmly believe that our thoughts are the springboard for what we manifest in life...good and not so good.

If you spend most of your days thinking negative thoughts about your circumstances, the world and the people who are present in your life, you will see a certain type of limiting result perpetuating in your world. To the contrary, if you spend most of your days thinking positive, productive thoughts about your circumstances and the people who surround you...you will certainly see a more productive and rewarding type of result. The choice is yours. Think about it!

Happy Katie Day!

2011-11-03T18:35:00.013-05:00

O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay! Today is Happy Katie Day.

Thirteen years ago today God gave Katie to us . . . again.

Katie was born in July 1998 with a Complete A/V Canal heart defect. Basically that means she had a very large hole in the center of her heart and only one common valve instead of the normal two. This defect allowed her oxygenated blood and "used" blood to mix together so she had a hard time getting enough oxygen into her body by breathing. Breathing and eating at the same time exhausted her. Her skin frequently went patchy or dusky and her lips and nailbeds sometimes turned blue. She was diagnosed with this condition in-utero at her 20 week ultrasound test. From week 20 of my pregnancy until her birth we went in every 4 weeks for a new echocardiogram to check on her progress. Some check ups were bad so we wept and prayed. Some check ups were good so we wept and praised. But we never lost her; God kept giving her to us. Again and again.

When the big event was finally upon us we made a middle of the night run to the hospital. As the nurses hooked up the fetal heart monitor they lobbed all kinds of questions at me. The one that really hit me was "Do you have a birth plan?"

Before we knew about Katie's heart defect and the high probability that she had Down syndrome we had all sorts of birth plans. I wanted to labor and deliver in a private birthing suite where Matt and baby could room in with me for the duration of our hospital stay. I wanted to be able to be up and walking around for most of my laboring. I wanted to try to do natural childbirth without any drugs, but if needed I would be open to having an epidural before I hit transition. Of course I was going to try to breastfeed and I didn't want any pacies introduced to my baby in the hospital. But plans change. What seemed so vitally important 5 months ago now seemed utterly insignificant.

"Do you have a birth plan?" the nursed asked me again. I looked the nurse right in the eyes and said,

Yes, I do. Here's my plan. Please write this down. No matter what, DELIVER A LIVE BABY. I don't care what she has or doesn't have, I don't care what you do to me or how you get her out of me, just deliver a live baby. I'm serious. Totally serious.

At 8:40am Katie was safely delivered in a surgical room with Matt and a slew of medical staff in attendance. Sunny side up, eyes wide open and screaming her head off. God gave Katie to us . . . again.

After a 3day stay in the NICU our pediatric cardiologist sent us home with instructions to get 24 oz. of nourishment in Katie's body every day. I breastfed, I pumped, we switched to formula, we switched to concentrated formulas, we administered daily heart medication, we fed her 12 -14 times a day, we spent every waking hour trying to get this girl to eat and she still ended up moving into congestive heart failure by 8 weeks of age. On a good day we were thrilled to have her drink 12 oz. of formula. Most days 10 oz. On bad days she took as little as 8 oz.--total--for an entire 24 hour period!! Katie got weaker and thinner and she slept a lot. Just putting her in and out of her carrier car seat for a doctor appointment would exhaust her. She'd be ruined for eating for that day. Stressful doesn't even cover it.

Matt lovingly fed Katie in the late night/early morning hours so I could get some extended sleep. We had to attempt to feed her every 1 1/2 - 2 hours round the clock. I'd go to bed at 10:00pm while Matt sat up in our recliner couch, held Katie and gave her the midnight and 2am feedings. Then he'd change her diaper and put her in her crib. He would then shower and go in to work at 3:00am so he could be home in the afternoon to give me a break. I set my alarm for 4am & 6am to feed Katie again and by 7am our 3 year old Josh was up and ready to start his day.

Babies with this heart condition typically have repair surgery at 6-9 months of age. But our sweet Katie just couldn't gain weight and kept getting longer and thinner and weaker. By 2 1/2 months our cardiologist, Dr. Krabil, said Katie would need open heart surgery very soon. Nothing was working. Dr. Krabil said if we waited too much longer she might be too thin and too weak to adequately recover from the surgery.

So, at 8:00am on Tuesday, November 3, 1998 Matt & I handed our tiny 3 month old baby over to the cardiac nurse. Katie weighed in at just 10 lbs. 8 oz. that morning; her birth weight 3 months earlier was 9 lbs. 6 oz. Katie was on heart bypass for 5 hours and we didn't see her again until 4:30pm in the Pediatric ICU. For those hours of waiting we prayed and read. Matt stopped reading every 5 minutes and prayed that God would keep Katie alive for another 5 minutes. He repeated this intercession all day long.

When we finally got to see Katie she was covered in wires and tubes and hooked up to a ventilator. But she was alive! And pink! I wrote up scripture cards and posted them all over her bed. We played worship CD's at her bedside round the clock and we sang worship songs and prayed. Katie made an amazing recovery thanks to our divine God. Every day another tube or wire was removed from her. On her fourth day post-surgery I was allowed to hold her and feed her a bottle. Oh the glory and grace was overwhelming. My newly reborn daughter eagerly sucked down 4 whole ounces of formula in that one feeding!! Matt and I were shocked and filled with praise. Prior to her heart surgery a "great" feeding would be 1 oz.; Katie's average feeding was 1/4 - 1/2 an oz. The Lord had made her new and healed her heart.

Fast forward 13 years to the events of this fall and Katie's swim team. I stand in awe and gratitude to our amazing God for bringing Katie along in every way--physically, emotionally, intellectually, and spiritually. I praise you Lord for our sweet Katie and thank you so much for giving her to us again, and again, and again.

O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay! Today is Happy Katie Day.

Tapped by the State

2011-10-28T15:54:00.002-05:00

Katie has been tapped by the state of Minnesota. Take a look here.

An Insignificant Job?

2011-10-28T10:34:00.008-05:00

Saw this on FB today and had to share. With a heart motivated by love and service, there are no insignificant jobs!

I can so see Katie doing something like this when she enters the workforce--in whatever capacity that is.

We're Moving Up

2011-10-26T17:39:00.004-05:00

Today has been an absolutely whirlwind of a day. I've had emails, texts, FB messages and phone calls all day about the Pioneer Press article about Katie. Totally cool. By 10am her article had made it on to the "Most Read Stories" for today's PP website. By noon she was up to the #8 of 10 spot. By 2pm her article appeared as the Editor's Pick on the webpage, just under the TOP STORY about the battle to build a new Vikings Stadium. Hilarious!

From 3pm-5:00pm I was at the girls swim team pizza party. Checked my computer as soon as I got home and now Katie's article is in the #5 spot. I also received an email from the MN Dept. of Education about doing a special feature article about Katie on their website front page!! How cool is that?

Tomorrow the girls have their last meet of the year--a fun, goofy all relay races event in Lake Elmo. KSTP channel 5 may be there to film Katie and her team. Look for her on the late news show.

My Newspaper Girl

2011-10-26T08:27:00.008-05:00

I've already written a few posts about Katie's experiences on the middle school girls swim team this year. This week her story was sent out to some local news agencies and lo and behold she's getting some real press. Here is the web edition of the St. Paul Pioneer Press article about Katie and her swim team. I'm really happy with the end result. Katie was thrilled to read about herself this morning and I'm sure she will be the buzz of her school today!!!

Today is the swim team end of the season pizza party--which Katie is totally jazzed about. And Thursday will be her last swim event for the season--The Pumpkin Splash in Lake Elmo. We'll have goofy silly relay races, candy and loads of laughs. It's been rumored that KTSP channel 5 is going to send Darren Wolfson along to interview Katie and shoot some video of her in the water. I hope they do. You go girl!!

Please, give us some link love and pass this story on--let's get Katie going viral!!

An Instant Bond

2011-10-07T10:36:00.006-05:00

So yesterday afternoon was another away swim meet for Katie and her team. We competed against the Simley Middle School team. We lost but several of our girls had some best times so that's a good thing. Anyway, about a third of the way into the meet a young mom sat down in the bleachers near me with a school age girl and a darling toddler age boy. I immediately noticed that the little boy had Down syndrome. OMG he was soooooo cute and cuddly. Once they settled in I, of course, couldn't help but say hi and ask her little boy's name. His name was Sam and what a doll he was. I told her that I had a 13 year old daughter with Down syndrome and that she was on the swim team. Within a few minutes it was Katie's turn to do her event--the 50m freestyle in the JV division. I pointed Katie out to the mom and shared a bit about Katie's Special Olympics "career" and how well the other girls were accepting her on this new team.When the event started Katie's whole team yelled and cheered her on--as has become their habit. Katie swam really hard and smiled and waved at her teammates while she went. She made her turn and headed for the finish. All the other swimmers were already done while Katie swam her last 15m. Then EVERYONE at the event started cheering for Katie and I burst into tears; Sam's mom did too! The other mom next to me said "Now I'm losing it, seeing you two cry." It never ceases to amaze me how quickly mom's with special needs kids can bond when we see our kids doing "typical kid" things. I then had the joy of encouraging Sam's mom in her special parents journey. I know that seeing Katie do such a normal thing and seeing her peers respond so positively to her meant the world to Sam's mom. The breadth of impact that our special kids can have on their peers and other parents is truly immeasurable. I love it! More, more, more.

Lord open my eyes to see more opportunities for Katie to participate in typical activities--it does her good, but it does the world good as well.

Ode to Free Cell

2011-10-03T17:37:00.004-05:00

Free Cell, oh Free Cell how I love thee, let me count the ways. I love thee for the pings and bings you make whenever I put a card in home. I love thee for the mental distraction you give me when I want to procrastinate--again. I love thee for the quickness of your games. I love thee for the orderliness of your end game. I love thee for giving me a sense of turning chaos into order, even when the rest of my house/life is not so. I love thee for being available morning, noon and midnight whenever I want to play you. But alas, my love, you are not good for me I fear. Oh well, we all have our vices.

Josh Steps Up

2011-10-03T08:51:00.008-05:00

Friday afternoon Josh attended his first informational meeting about the Henry Sibley High School debate team. I've encouraged him to pursue this because he is already so articulate and smart and because I thought it would be a constructive outlet for his propensity to argue. Anyway, at 5:30pm when I arrived at school to pick him up, Josh sheepishly informed me that he was volunteered to fill in for a varsity debater who just moved away--leaving his senior debate partner in the lurch. The first tournament was all day on Saturday (14 hours from now) in Apple Valley, he needed to hand in a $150 activity fee check tomorrow, and he needed clean dress clothes to wear. Wow! Way to jump right in there Mr. Josh!! He had a packet of research to study that night but, amazingly enough, he did his part, I did my part and we had him all set and ready to go at 7:30am Saturday morning.

Because of other commitments with the other kiddos Matt & I were not able to get down to Apple Valley to see any of Josh's debates. But Caleb & I managed to skirt around all the 35E construction traffic and make it down to Eastview high school in time to pick him up. Josh was in pretty good spirits but he said that he screwed up pretty bad on the first 2 debates. He felt the last 2 went better but he didn't want to wait around to get his scoring pages from his coach. All in all he liked it and he'll be at his second debate club meeting this afternoon. I'm very proud of him for putting himself out there so quickly. I'm pleased that he has confidence in himself and his intellectual abilities and was willing to step in to such an unknown (and public) situation. I NEVER would have jumped in to something like that when I was his age. I think this new activity will be a good one for Josh. And once he learns the how to do it rules of debate I KNOW he'll excel at it.

After the tournament Josh, Caleb & I went to see the movie "Inception" at the IMAX theatre in Roseville. I got a $7 coupon in my email for this special event. The boys and I really enjoyed the movie (again) and it was a nice "reward" for Josh after his last head spinning 24 hours.

Up this week--buying Josh a long sleeve white dress shirt, tie, and dress shoes! We are VERY casual dressers here in our home. We managed to scramble together a nice enough outfit for him to wear on Saturday, but I know he'll feel better in attire that looks really good on him. With his wonderful height and broad shoulders he can look super sharp in clothes that have the correct cut and fit. I'll be in clothes hunting mode this week!

UPDATE: Josh got his score sheets back today. He and his partner won 2 out of 4 debates! I think this is a phenomenal success for Josh since he was competing at a 2nd year level with only a few hours prep time. Also, the senior Varsity debater Josh was paired with told him that he wants to keep Josh as his partner for the rest of the season. How cool is that? Josh will have another tournament in 2 weeks. I can't wait to see what he does with actual prep time and practice. He's in the right place.

Swimming with a Purpose!

2011-10-03T08:27:00.005-05:00

Last Thursday Katie's swim team had it's first "away" meet in Lake Elmo against Oak-land Jr. High. The girls made a good showing but did not win the meet. However, it was fun being able to cheer for our Sibley girls at another school. The coach kindly allowed me to ride the bus with Katie and the team to and from the meet. Katie had a good event for her 50m freestyle. As she swam her way down to the end of the pool in the outside land several of her teammates stood at the edge cheering her on. The louder they cheered the more girls joined in until the whole team was there for Katie. After Katie made her turn they all walked along the edge cheering "Katie, Katie, Katie!!" in her final lap. Katie was smiling and waving a bit more than swimming, but that's okay. I was so choked up to see her team so enthusiastically support her. It was a good day.

The next day at practice the coach allowed me to address the girls while Katie had some extra free time in the pool. I thanked them for their support and acceptance of Katie and how much that meant to both of us. I also told them that I was a bit afraid of how the girls would treat Katie since so many girls are known to be "mean" at this age. I told them a little bit about Down syndrome, Katie's health history, and what the future might hold for her. Then I allowed them to ask me questions. I was quite overwhelmed by the number of questions--good, thoughtful questions too! Several of the girls mentioned that they had a cousin or neighbor with Down syndrome. Several girls asked questions about Katie's future--would she get married, would she be able to have children, where would she live, what kind of job would she have? I was very pleased to see the sincere interest the girls had in Katie's well being.

Swim team is widening Katie's net of relationships and educating more of her peers on how to include and befriend kids with disabilities. It's all good.

Mushroom Barley Stew

2011-09-29T21:30:00.005-05:00

Tonight I made an easy fabulous stew in my crockpot. Thanks Mom Brinkman for the Crockpot cookbook--this recipe came from there. I had some leftover barley in the pantry and wanted to use it up. Since I couldn't even remember what I had originally used it for I figured I best find a new recipe. Enter Mushroom Barley Stew.

Josh LOVES mushrooms, the rest of us like them, Caleb likes them sometimes. So, with the probability of an 80% family approval rating I decided to try making the stew. It called for dried wild mushrooms which I had never seen in the store until I went looking for them at the Target Superstore. They were with the other fresh herbs in the produce section. Anyway, the stew was super easy to make, rich and VERY filling. It has no meat in it but even my big guys didn't notice or complain about that. The wild mushrooms give it a very earthy, rustic taste--which little kids may not like. My kids have pretty epicurean palates so they loved it! I had just one bowl and 3 hours later I'm still feeling satiated. I served it with sourdough french bread--next time I'll toast the bread under the broiler so it's crusty. The recipe says 4-6 servings but I'd say we got 7-8 hearty bowls. I put this recipe in my Weight Watchers recipe builder and, LOL, it totals just 2 points per bowl--very low calorie but high nutrition. Give it a try!

This free recipe card design made with Smilebox

Finding a Match

2011-09-18T14:43:00.004-05:00

So Josh is in an Advanced World Literature class this year as a junior at his high school. The teacher, Mr. Skov, is infamous at Sibley as a teacher and for this class in particular. So far it has been a mixed bag for Josh. Although Josh is much more science oriented in his giftedness, he has always had a love of literature and has always been an avid reader. One of his assignments in this class is to read 1200 pages of any world literature piece(s)of his choice. After looking at a bunch of different authors Josh landed on Dostoyevsky and specifically The Brothers Karamozov. He is loving it! Josh told me today that he feels this novel is the perfect fit for him--complex characters, interesting plot, multiple ethical/moral dilemmas, intellectually dense, and philosophically heavy! That's my boy. Who knows, maybe I'll make an English major out of him yet?

Oh What a Night!

2011-09-17T21:25:00.002-05:00

Caleb turned 9 on Sept. 11 and we allowed him to have his first ever sleepover birthday party at our house last night. Five 3rd grade boys descended on us at 6:30pm Friday night and stayed until 10:00am Saturday morning. It was a fun but very LOUD night! I had no idea that 8 year old boys could scream like girls and for so long. Wow! They played Super Mario Smash Brothers on the Wii, ate pizza, had some DQ ice cream cake, and played a board game with Matt. Two of the boys also sat with me and played on Katie's iPad2 that she just brought home from school yesterday. It was a fun night. We attempted to get the boys to sleep at midnight by putting a movie in for them and turning off the lights at 11:00pm. To no avail! We still had Caleb & 1 other kid up until 2am. Then they were all up awake at 7am. I just wish I could figure out how to bottle and sell their energy. I need an energy tonic!!

Anyway, Caleb enjoyed being a host and all the boys told me that they had so much fun. I made sausage egg biscuits (uh, Jimmy Dean De'lites in the micro) and O.J. for their breakfast and put it out on the patio table. They ate breakfast in the treehouse--but first they had to go get some sleeping bags since it was a chilly 40 degrees this morning.

We are very blessed in many ways but there are many "material things" that we don't have. However, I feel good about the fact that over and over again our kids have felt comfortable inviting their friends to play/hang out at our house. And the friends always want to come back. I'm not really sure what it is that we're doing (or not doing) that makes kids say "our house is so much fun" but I've heard this many times over the years. It's one of the best compliments I could ever receive.

What do you do (or not do) at your home that makes it welcoming to your kids and their friends?

Just Keep Swimming!

2011-09-16T09:53:00.006-05:00

Katie has been swimming on the local Special Olympics team for 6 years now. She's a good swimmer (when she wants to be). The first week of school I got notice that the girls swim team was starting up at Heritage--Katie's middle school. I immediately emailed the coach and told her about Katie and asked if I could try Katie on the team. The coach was very open and welcoming to the idea.

For those of you who don't know, if your child attends a public school (even a public charter school) ALL school activities are legally required to be open to all children--regardless of medical diagnosis/disability. Now the kiddo still needs to be able to participate in the activity/sport with only "reasonable" accommodations, but the school can not block your kiddo from going out for anything. Since I'm a very informed advocate for Katie I already knew that the only prerequisite that Katie needed to be on the swim team was the ability to swim a full length of the pool, which she can do. But, I was still a bit nervous about how she'd fit in to the team.

We've had two weeks of practices--every day after school for 1 1/2 hrs. Some of those days Katie stayed on task very well, other days she was visiting and farting around (but the same goes for some of the "typical" girls too). Our routine involves me picking Katie up from her class at 3:00pm, then we go to the girls locker room and I help her get into her bathing suit, cap & goggles. Then I either stay for the practice and help keep Katie on task, or I leave the building and come back to pick her up at 4:30pm and help her in the locker room again. It's been a tiring new commitment for me but it's been good. I've found that I'm using my morning time more efficiently because I now know I'll be gone all afternoon and not home until 5:00pm--when I need to start cooking dinner!!! Caleb has been on his own from 2:45pm until 3:30pm when Josh gets home--this has been good for Caleb's maturity too. And it's really surprised me to see how much the boys miss me--they've both been hanging around me more when I am home in the evening!! Who knew?

Anyway, the team had their first swim meet yesterday. Katie swam in a 50m freestyle event. And although she came in last place I couldn't have been prouder of her. I've watched her swim in many, many meets before but this was different. After she took off I stood by the edge of the pool and cried tears of joy and pride. My mind flashed back to all the hours and hours put in to therapies, adaptive toys and equipment, IEP fights, daily teacher conferences, adapting curriculum myself, and constant, unwavering, bold advocacy by both Matt & me. And it has ALL been worth it! To see Katie smiling and swimming her heart out while 50 other middle school girls cheered her name--it was a sight to behold. She swam better and faster than I've ever seen her before. Very exciting. Once Katie got out of the water she received loads of hugs and high fives from her teammates, her coach, and even the stodgy old referee! During the meet Katie handed out water bottles to her teammates and after the meet Katie and I handed out juice boxes and granola bars to all the girls. It was a nice way to let Katie be the center of attention and for her to personally interact with each girl on the team.

Today is another practice. I'll be interested to see if the other girls interact with Katie a little more. What would please me the most is to see at least a few of the other girls really accept and include Katie as a member of this team and as a friend. I don't expect invitations to slumber parties and such, but sincere expressions of friendship and respect would be great!

A New Adventure

2011-09-13T17:01:00.009-05:00

Last night I signed up Katie, Caleb and I to be extras in our church's original Christmas musical theatre production called "Hallelujah!" Josh has been in the productions several times (speaking and non-speaking roles) so he's ready to move on to something different in terms of acting/drama. This year it's Katie & Caleb's turn. It should be a fun, memorable, and exhausting adventure. The sales department at North Heights has already sold over 1,000 tickets for this event. Christmas and Easter productions have been annual events in our church for over 25 years. Usually a total of 10,000 people attend the show during the 8 performance run in December. It will be a big deal to be part of it this year. As extras we don't really start rehearsals until November but we'll do 8 shows over the first two weekends in December. Ya'll come now!!

An Old & New Favorite

2011-09-13T09:34:00.007-05:00

Okay, so it was Caleb's birthday on Sunday, yes, September 11!! And due to busyness and poor planning we only pre-purchased him a few little birthday gifts. So after church on Sunday we took him on a shopping outing to the Hub Hobby store in Roseville. This store has tons of cool educational toys, kits and models to build. When Josh was 9-11 years old we frequented that store often. Josh loved to build models from kits. His favorite was military aircraft. It was good fine motor work for him and it kept him mentally occupied for hours on end. Then Josh got interested in computer stuff and so long Hub Hobby.

Fast forward 5 years--since Caleb is now 9 he's kind of done with "toys" per say, but he still enjoys creating stuff. Enter Hub Hobby again. OMG! I couldn't believe all the new stuff they had packed into that store in the last 5 years. Everything imaginable for boys & girls--science kits, art projects, girlie crafts, models to build, Playmobile, Legos, two aisles of board games, model train stuff, model rocket stuff, collectible horses, books, tiny toys, marbles, puzzles, and on and on. We spent a good 2 hours there letting Caleb look at some options for birthday gifts. We was initially interested in getting a wireless RC airplane. But after taking to the sales guy and hearing Josh's tale of woe about his own RC airplane, Caleb agreed that this would NOT be a good purchase. We have learned the hard way that RC airplanes/helicopters are truly NOT for kids to fly alone. They look cool, but they are VERY fragile and once broken they are useless!! It's a fine hobby for a parent and child to do together--and remember--a hobby costs money and time, then more money and more time to keep it going!! Model RC airplanes are not toys you can just hand to a 9 year old and expect him to be able to fly it by himself while you go do something else!!

Anyway, back to Caleb. So once he realized the truth about RC airplanes he turned to other options. After loads of looking, inspecting and debating he decided on a really cool build it yourself RC robot. The one we purchased is made by a company named Thames & Kosmos. I had never heard of them before. But WOW, WOW, WOW!! They have tons of the coolest science kits I've ever seen. Real hands-on, age appropriate experiments & construction kits with a great booklet that explains to kids how and why the things work the way they do. We will be buying more gifts from Hub Hobby and more kits from Thames & Kosmos. Above is a picture of the kit we purchased for Caleb. I had the fun of building the robot with him Sunday afternoon. Now he's taken that apart and is building one of the other 15 models in the booklet. Once he gets a feel for how the gears and motors work together I'm sure he'll be building his own designs. This is the kind of "toys" that we like around our home.

Good Mom

2011-09-05T11:56:00.004-05:00

I was a good mom last night. I had promised Caleb that I would sleep in his treehouse with him one night during the summer. Well last night was the night. Before we crept in for the night I sprayed the inside and out with yard bug spray to cut down on the blood sucking mosquitoes--it worked! Nary a bite all night long. Anyway, we brought a few books along and loads of blankets. It was unusually cold last night. I donned my flannel pj's and heavy socks before leaving the house.

I read us The Ghost of Windy Hill book (about 65 pp). It wasn't really scary but it was fun to read a whole book in one night to him. Since Caleb has matured into such a great reader on his own I've gotten away from reading aloud to the kids. I do miss it. Need to find some more books to start for the fall and winter. We had started the Chronicles of Narnia series a few years ago and left off at The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Next up would be The Silver Chair--I should probably pick this one and the rest of the series up at Borders while they are selling out at 80% off. Anyway, it was a pleasure to read aloud again and I need to do it again real soon.

My bladder insisted on waking me up twice during the night to trek into the house, but other than that Caleb and I had a quiet night. The cool breezes felt so good to me. He woke up at 7:30am bright eyed and bushy tailed. I suggested that we head to the futon downstairs to snuggle up and watch a movie--Mom speak--"lay down next to me and be quiet while I go back to sleep!" Caleb was thrilled! He will be 9 years old next Sunday but he still wants to hang out with Mom & Dad--I love it. Even Josh at 16 likes to be around us--alone. Not so much if his friends are around as well. But that's normal. I KNOW THE TRUTH!!

Spending a night in the treehouse with my son, a great end to a great summer.

Politically Incorrect School Supply Rant

2011-09-01T21:09:00.001-05:00

Here's my politically incorrect rant for today. Is it really so much to ask that MY kid use the school supplies that I purchased FOR HIM, just by HIMSELF? Why do schools want us to throw everything into a common pot for all the classroom kids to use? Don't bother answering that, I know the answer. I just don't like having to subsidize everyone else's school supplies. Go ahead call me a snob, it just bugs me. Caleb had already put his name on all his folders and spiral notebooks (that he picked out!) so hopefully he will personally get to use those items. Go ahead, let me have it!!

Home Going

2011-07-18T08:14:00.017-05:00

On Sunday, July 3 I received a very sad voice mail on my cell phone from my Dad. My stepmother, Iva Dee, passed away suddenly on Saturday, July 2 due to bacterial pneumonia. My Dad was heartbroken. So during our vacation week at Bugbee Hive Resort I made several calls back and forth to my Dad to find out when Iva Dee's memorial service would be. I was able to make my airline reservations while we were still on our vacation. We returned home from our vacation on Saturday, July 9 and on Tuesday, July 12 I flew out to Little Rock, Arkansas then drove to Dad's apartment in Hot Springs Village, AR. Iva Dee's memorial service was on Wednesday. I stayed with my Dad until Friday, July 15. It was an extremely difficult time for my Dad but I'm thankful that I was able to be there for him.

This photo was taken on May 27, 2011 when they went out to dinner with friends to celebrate Dad's 87th birthday.

Iva Dee was a lovely woman and I always liked her. She grew up in West Texas and had some very rough and poor times as a child and young woman. She married her high school sweetheart in 1939, had two children, and endured the remnants of the great depression and the whole of WWII as a young wife and mom. Eventually, she had a fine career with Wausau insurance and she was widowed while in her 40's. Iva Dee had a great wry sense of humor and she loved to laugh. She loved all kinds of music, loved to dance, loved flowers and loved the color pink. She was a stylish dresser and she could equally rock an evening gown or jeans & colored Keds. She and my Dad met in San Diego in the late 1980's and they were married in 1989. Matt and I were married in 1987 and when we visited them in 1990 we teased them about being newlyweds and offered them some marital advice. HaHa. Iva Dee grew up Southern Baptist (as did my Dad) and although she changed her domination several times over her lifetime, her commitment to Jesus Christ never waivered. She trusted in Christ alone for her salvation and I believe that her strong yet gentle way of living out her faith brought about my Dad's own spiritual renewal.

Dad and Iva Dee moved from San Diego to Arkansas about 20 years ago. They moved in to a very nice, gated retirement community called Hot Springs Village. They initially built a darling 3 bedroom home in the woods and Dad played his beloved game of golf several times a week. For those years their second "car" was a golf cart and Dad simply drove that around to the various courses and for short errands in the Village. Meanwhile, Iva Dee shattered the glass ceiling in the Hot Springs Village Lion's Club by being the first female member. She had been in this organization for many years in San Diego, but the AR Lion's Club had never had women members--until Iva Dee. She quickly won over the hearts of this good 'ole boy club and she was quite active in that club for many years. At Iva Dee's memorial service one whole pew at church was filled up with Lion's Club members. Dad and Iva Dee enjoyed a very active social life in the Village with parties and dances, made many new friends, became involved in the Kirk Presbyterian Church, and they took many trips all over the world.

About 5 years ago Dad and Iva Dee decided that it was time to sell their home and to move into a 2 bedroom assisted living apartment in the Village. Connected to the apartment complex is a rehab center and a skilled nursing home. This ended up being a very wise and timely move because within 18 months of their move Iva Dee started having many complex and serious health problems. For the past three years she's been in and out of hospitals and rehab and my Dad became her 24/7 caregiver. He did a wonderful job caring for her and was very devoted to improving her health and trying to keep her pain free. Those were some very difficult times for Dad and Iva Dee but they had much support from their Village friends, staff, and their church family.

Surprisingly, Iva Dee's health greatly improved in the last 9 months and they were able to return of some of the activities they had previously enjoyed--including attending church, and weekly golf games for Dad. Things seemed to be looking up. My sister and I made a trip down to AR in February and had a very nice visit with both of them. Iva Dee was in good health and great spirits. We had a lot of laughs and made some good memories. And then out of the blue she got the sniffles on Tuesday, June 28 which turned into pneumonia within 36 hours. She was placed in the hospital on Thursday, June 30 and by Saturday afternoon, July 2, she had passed away. My Dad was utterly shocked and heartbroken.

During my stay with Dad he talked a lot about Iva Dee and about his life in general. One night he kind of told me his whole life story. I learned quite a few new facts about his life and heard some stories that I'd never heard before--especially some very kind ones about my Mom. I was certainly sorry for the reason of the trip, but it was a good trip and good bonding time for us. I'm grateful to my family for letting me go and for pulling together so I could go. Josh offered to watch over Katie and Caleb while Matt was at work. Both Caleb & Josh made sure Katie got on the summer school bus at 8:00am and made it safely back home at noon. Josh also took over making lunch for the kids and preparing dinner for the family. I'm so appreciative of the teamwork.

I am also very appreciative of the prayers and encouraging text messages that my sis and girlfriends sent my way last week. God's grace saturated me and my interactions with my Dad.

Before I left I gave Dad a cell phone lesson and an email lesson. Hopefully these two additional means of communication will help him stay connected more often. Dad called me last night from his cell phone and he said that he was doing okay. Obviously, it will be just one day at a time. But, he said that once he finalizes all the remaining paperwork from Iva Dee's death he will look in to making plane reservations to come up to MN for a visit. It will be good for him to come see our kids and I know we'll have fun showing him the sights of the twin cities. I believe that a better relationship with my Dad has developed this year and I know that Iva Dee is very pleased to see that from her new home in heaven.

Vacation in a Bag

2011-07-12T07:40:00.007-05:00

A whirlwind of events has transpired since July 1. We left for our annual vacation to Bugbee Hive Resort on July 2. I have to say that after doing this trip for 4 years straight I have our packing needs pretty much down to a science. One traveling tip that has been very useful to me--giant ziploc bags and a giant IKEA bag. We always bring many board games and some movies along on our trips so those all go in the large square IKEA tote bag. I bring a box of XL ziploc bags along too (4 in the box)--buy at Walmart. One holds all the swim goggles & pool toys, the other 3 are used for dirty laundry in each of our 3 bedrooms. When it's time to leave all the dirty laundry is already "packed" into 3 of the ziploc bags then I pack all our games/movies in to one of our now empty suitcases. The IKEA bag now gets the wet towels & bathing suits. When we're ready to unpack the car all the dirty & wet laundry bags go directly to the laundry room. After a quick sorting out of whites I can start a load of laundry within 15 mins. of arriving home while the rest of the family unpacks the remaining items from the car. We are usually done within 15 mins. and everything is put back into it's place within 30 mins. of our arrival. That's a great feeling. Try this on your next trip and see how much easier it makes arriving back home.

This year we had the Honey Comb cabin for the 2nd year; next year we will move to the Yellow Jacket cabin. We stay at the resort from Saturday to Saturday and our week involves daily lake & pool swimming, nightly grill outs, loads of board games, doing crafts, and pleasure reading. This resort fits our family really well. Every day there is a new craft to try and a time for outdoor family games/activities.

This summer's theme was "Minute to Win it." At the welcome party Sunday night all the families were given a bag of "stuff" and instructions on 10 different challenges we could compete in as a family on Friday night. The prize was $100 in Bee Bucks that could be applied to expenses on our next visit. Anyway, the challenges ranged from stacking folded index cards 10 layers high to keeping 2 balloons in the air for 1 minute. The kids and Matt had fun practicing all week for the competition. I just winged it. All of us did 1-2 challenges. Mine were threading 5 penne pasta onto a spaghetti noodle while holding it in my mouth--no hands. And I did it!! The competition was quite funny and we all had some good laughs. In the end we came in 2nd place out of 6 teams competing. We've already booked a cabin for next year.

Overdue Updates

2011-07-01T10:40:00.002-05:00

Yay! I found my camera upload cable. So here's a slideshow of some of our family photos from February through May 2011. Enjoy!

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Mother's Little Helper

2011-06-30T18:08:00.009-05:00

Yes, I'm writing about vitamins--again. Just got a refill on these vities yesterday and man oh man, do they do the trick for me. Two tablets in the AM and I've been going strong all day. No afternoon nap needed today! Spent 3 hours this morning/afternoon painting Caleb's treehouse (with Caleb and Katie's assistance) outside in 90 degree weather--but it was in heavy shade so not too bad. Caleb made a nice lunch for us all which he served out on the patio. Why does PB&J taste so darn good after doing physical labor? Yum!! After painting I put some chili in the crockpot then spent the rest of the afternoon doing and folding massive amounts of laundry while watching Toy Story 3 with Caleb. Once the movie was over I sorted through and tossed 2 large boxes of miscellaneous stuff that had been dumped in Josh's room. He took my instructions seriously and did his annual full room clean out! It only took him 2 hours not the usual 2 days. He's getting better at not cluttering up his room with tons of junk during the school year! And now, I'm just taking a little break from putting away laundry to write this post. After dinner tonight we're going to take the kiddos to the Y for some cooling outdoor pool time.

And I feel GREAT!! Loads of good energy--not jitters--and no eating, eating, eating all day today. As God is my witness I will never go off these vitamins again!!! Love 'em . . . and they're legal!

So, what did you do today?

Lessons from the Thrift Store

2011-06-30T08:50:00.010-05:00

Well yesterday was a fun, productive, busy, and enlightening day. My errands and activities included:

haircuts for Katie & I, 2 Mary Kay orders delivered, lunch at Mac & Don's Supper Club (hat tip to Uncle Elton), lake-grungy clothes shopping @ the thrift store, post office, GNC for vities, grocery store, swimming at the Y, 3 hours of family bookkeeping, 1 dressing room personal revelation.

Since we are leaving for our annual week-long lake vacation on Saturday I took Katie & Caleb with me to our favorite thrift store to pick up some extra shorts & swimsuits. While I was there I figured I should try to pick up 1 pair of comfy shorts too. But, once I was in the dressing room, attired in the shorts and looking at myself in the mirror I had an "aha" moment. Although I've been in a swimsuit already this summer, I haven't looked at myself (or more specifically, at my LEGS) since last summer. What a difference a year makes--and let me tell you, it was not pretty. The shorts fit fine, they were in fine condition, but all I could really see in the mirror were my ghostly white, cellulite rippled, wrinkled, veiny, plump legs glaring back at me.

INSERT SCREAM HERE.

The images of summer shorts, 48 year old woman and size 20 do NOT belong together!! YUCK! So, needless to say the shorts quickly came off, the capris quickly went back on and I reconfirmed my vow to never wear shorts again for the rest of my life. Capris are just fine for me now at this stage of my life. They are short enough to keep me cool, but long enough to keep my road mapped legs undercover. Lesson learned. Thank you Valu Thrift Store!

Kathie's Cookies

2011-06-28T17:33:00.003-05:00

I got in a discussion with my MK girlfriends last night about cookies. Below is my recipe for the Ultimate Chocolate Chip cookies. I got it from the back of the Butter Flavor Crisco jar, NOT the back of the tollhouse bag--my mistake last night. Anyway, next time you want the ultimate cookie, try this recipe. I and my kids are forever ruined for any other chocolate chip cookies thanks to this recipe. Try it, you'll like it. You can also add 1/2 C chopped pecans for extra flavor--we like them without.

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The Living is Easy

2011-06-28T10:41:00.006-05:00

Well, my kiddos have been home for 2 1/2 weeks now and we've already packed in a ton of fun. The summer heat has yet to appear but we're enjoying the great outdoors anyway. Matt and Caleb finished construction on Caleb's treehouse; I think the kids and I will paint the outside of it today. The treehouse has a glass window, a door, a ladder with rope lighting, two screened ventilation windows, a roof, carpet and an electricity hookup. He's already slept out there several nights. He just loves it. It was a fun project for Matt and Caleb to work on together. It has been a big hit with all the neighbor kids as well--even with my "rules." So far, the kids have been just fine with it and no one has been banished for more than 1 day.

We've gone swimming at the Y a few times already and that has been really nice. Josh has joined a teen writer's club at one of our county libraries and he's enjoying that. He has taken to writing some short stories of late; it's a good creative outlet for him.

I'm still working on getting an art teacher for Katie. I have several referral names that I've contacted but so far no replies back; need to do more follow up.

We started reading the original Mary Poppins book. It's okay. A bit boring. Unless it really picks up I don't expect we'll be reading the other Poppins books.

Matt and I have gone to the dollar movie theatre the last 3 Sunday nights for a date night. Two good movies, one bad one. We've seen: Source Code (really good), Limitless (good), and Hanna (bad). But it's a cheap date out for us.

The whole family has been playing a new board game called "7 Wonders." It's pretty fun. I was totally confused when we first started, but now I've gotten the hang of it and have actually won a few games.

I've hauled & laid 24 sacks of mulch and 6 bags of landscaping rocks in the backyard. My perennial beds are looking cleaned up and new. Now if we'd just get some consistent sun and heat I might actually get some flowers to bloom. Lots of leaves and greenery, but no flowers yet!!

After several months of saving I purchased the oval black wrought iron patio table and extra chairs that I've been wanting. Josh put it all together. So now we have a great looking patio set that comfortably seats six people with plenty of table space for the food.

So far, summer has been just how I like it--relaxing, but busy with fun activities.

This weekend we head up to Bug Bee Hive resort for our annual lake vacation. Not sure this year if the lake water will be warm enough to swim in. Thankfully, the resort also has an indoor pool. We cook out, play loads of board games, swim, fish, and read books. This year we are also going to rent surrey bikes for an all day outing around the lake. We can get a 2-seater and a 4 seater--we'll need both--and we can use them on the bike trail around Lake Koronis.

Oh, and we completed our replacement window installation last week with new patio doors and new upper and lower front windows. Ahhh, nice breezes are blowing and flowing through our living areas for once.

So far summer's been good to us. How's your summer going?

Just One More Day!

2011-06-08T08:42:00.003-05:00

Just one more day and my kiddos will be home for the summer--YAY!!! Josh has his Adv. World History and Pre-Calculus final today. He feels pretty confidant about both--let's hope that is an accurate assessment. Caleb's class is on their second day of Camp Read-a-lot and I have a privilege of being a guest reader today. I'm bringing in my old childhood book The King with Six Friends to read to the class--published in 1968. It's a fun story of teamwork, wisdom and leadership. I hope the kids like it. I read it to Katie's 4th grade class a few years back and they all loved it!!

Our plans for the summer include, but are not limited to:

the Bellin Run (this weekend), Bugbee Hive Resort vacation, Vacation Bible School for Katie & Caleb, lots of TKD classes, swimming at the YMCA, reading lots of great chapter books--Mary Poppins in particular, Wednesday Art Days with Leah & kids, playing in our backyard treehouse, watching the remaining episodes of Twin Peaks with Josh, bike riding, picnics in public parks, afternoon naps, grilling out several times a week, a visit from my Dad, Katie's birthday, weekly library trips, Josh practicing his driving skills, Josh's birthday, Josh getting his driver's license, Redemption Card National Tournament at our church, Caleb attending a week of YMCA day camp, private art lessons for Katie (still looking for teacher), going to garage sales, private swim coaching for Katie (still looking for coach), reading fun mystery novels for me, going to the drive-in movie theatre, camping out in the backyard, sleeping in the treehouse, having friends over, playing poker with our neighbor out of the patio, playing board games, doing a few minor home improvement projects . . . and just relaxing!

Although this sounds like a lot of stuff, it's not really. Mostly I like our family to enjoy a relaxed easy paced summer. Caleb put forth the idea of no video games for the summer. I might go with that, but I don't think it's totally realistic for the whole summer. I do try to do at least an hour of reading aloud each day with the kids during the summer. During the school year I feel we're too busy to jam that in on a regular basis so summer is the time. Katie can read on her own, but rarely picks up a book to read for pleasure so reading aloud to her is still a great way to expand her vocabulary and reinforce her reading "ears." Caleb & Josh are voracious readers but I do still like to read to Caleb as well. Josh reads loads of science fiction, Edgar Allen Poe-type horror novels, political intrigue, and has now developed an interest in classic novels. So, we mostly just discuss the books he's read--whether or not I've read them or not. Yep, we're a family of bookworm geeks! I admit it.

Well, better run and get ready for my next reading appointment with Caleb's class!!

Digital Scrapbooking for Fun (and Profit?)

2011-06-02T20:49:00.012-05:00

This free slideshow personalized with Smilebox

I just finished up another fun scrapbook for a my kid's teacher. The elementary school Caleb attends now does "class looping" for 1st & 2nd grade, and then for 3rd & 4th grade. This strategy has an entire class and teacher stay together for two consecutive years. Katie did this for 3rd & 4th grade and I found it to be tremendously helpful to her academically and socially. Her teacher at that time took loads of pictures of the kids in class, on field trips, doing special projects, etc. So towards the end of their 4th grade year together I managed to get copies of all her photos (I don't recall how though) and made a really cute paper scrapbook for her. I had each child write some little note to her telling her what they liked best about her class. I bought a prepacked, pre-designed and pre-cut scrapbook kit for the project. It was fun but it still took many, many, many hours to plan out and paste together. The final project was lovely and the teacher loved it.

Fast forward three years and Caleb is now getting ready to say goodbye to his teacher that he has had for two years--Ms. Haefel. I'm a little smarter now so I told her that I'd like to put together a digital scrapbook for her if she had photos from the past 2 years. She was thrilled and gave me her disk of digital photos a month ago. I loaded them on to my computer and returned the disk to her. And there they have sat until I got through making my Mom's 80th birthday party photo DVD. But now that the party is over, all my loose ends are tied up with that project, today was the day to jump into the next computer project.

So today I used my beloved Smilebox program to digitally scrapbook all 137 of Ms. Haefel's photos in 1 day. Most of the pages have titles and quotes and are digitally cropped to fit. I was able to complete that whole project in just 5 hours. Which is VERY cool and fast for scrapbooking. I'm giving Ms. Haefel the choice of either printed pages in a 12 x 12 traditional scrapbook or burning her a photo slide show onto a DVD. The DVD is by far the more economical way to go, but this is a gift so she gets to choose.

I have been using the Smilebox program for several years now for posting slide shows on this blog and for making up our annual photo memory calendars. CopyMax can even just take a jump drive from me with the pages on them in a jpeg format and print them for me--no wasting ink on this end. If Ms. Haefel wants the printed pages I'll have them done at CopyMax then simply slip them in a 12 x 12 scrapbook album. And this project will be complete.

I really enjoy making things for people as gifts--especially if it doesn't require a massive mess to be made in my house!! But I was thinking today, I wonder if I could make any money doing these scrapbooks for folks who don't have the time or inclination to do it themselves. The only thing it costs me is my time--which I happen to have a plethora of. So, any advice? Should I try to market a new little digital scrapbooking/photo slideshow business? At the top of this post is a Smilebox scrapbook slideshow that I created. Would you pay me to do something like this for you? There are tons of scrapbook & slideshow styles/colors and every kind of background music imaginable. What would you pay me to make one of these for you with 100 photos?

When the Cat's Away . . .

2011-05-30T09:44:00.005-05:00

Matt & the boys left yesterday morning to drive down to Iowa for a Redemption Card tournament. I'm so glad that my sons have this fun, competitive, Christian-based, and year round activity to do with Matt. They've all made some great friends (many fathers & sons play the game) and they've taken some fun road trips to travel to tournaments. These will be great memories for the boys to savor once they are adults.

And of course, while the cat's away, the mice will play. So Katie and I are bachin' it for the weekend. Yesterday we cleaned and decluttered her bedroom real well. Then we went out to a movie with our next door neighbors (Zoie & Helen). We saw Kung Fu Panda 2; it was very cute! Same voice talent, lots of action scenes & danger, but also a very positive pro-family & pro-adoption message. The ending opened the door to the possibility of a Kung Fu Panda 3--but we'll see about that. Afterwards we were all hungry for Chinese food so we went to our fav buffet place in West St. Paul--Pho Saigon. Yummy food, great price.

Helen stayed over and played with Katie for a hour or so while I worked on cleaning my bedroom. After Katie was in bed I stayed up until midnight folding laundry and cleaning my room while watching some shows on Netflix instant watch. I never wanted a TV or DVD player in our bedroom but I must say that I really enjoy having my computer in our bedroom. I like putting in a movie to watch or doing an instant watch TV show through Netflix while I'm doing my "sit down" chores. I'm more motivated to fold the laundry, go through paperwork, or balance our checkbook, if I can pair it with a 45 minute show.

Today looks very dreary outside but we need to make a Sam's Club run and unless it is storming outside, Katie & I will grill out cheeseburgers for dinner. Still have more upstairs cleaning to do today, but if it's raining all day, that's a good time to do it.

The boys won't be home tonight until after midnight. I plan to have clean sheets and warm beds waiting for all of them!!

Making Tracks

2011-05-28T13:30:00.004-05:00

Matt's big plan for today worked out thanks to the sunshine. We drove his car over to the TKD studio at 10:45am, then we started our walk back home. We covered 5.4 miles in 90 mins. so we arrived back home at 12:15pm. It was a great walk and really not hard at all. I feel confidant now that I'll be able to do the 6.2 miles on June 11 for the Bellin Run in Green Bay. Yay me! After a drink and a change of clothes Matt took off to run the 5.4 miles back to his car then drive home. I expect he'll complete it just fine. I am so proud of him. I feel a little sore right now, but my knee is just fine, PTL! I am SO glad to have my knee pain under control right now. I sincerely hope that continues. For every 1 pound of scale weight I lose I take 4 pounds of pressure off my knees. Gotta keep making tracks and covering the miles each week to keep the scale going down. It's been slow, but I feel we've really adopted a whole new lifestyle for our entire family, which is the best thing long term.

The remainder of today will be spent outdoors gardening and then grabbing some groceries. I feel good.

Got it In

2011-05-27T12:13:00.004-05:00

Yeah! I just walked for 60 minutes down to our post office and back. Feels so good to be able to do this. Brady was so good on the walk. And when we got to the post office I just strolled right in with Brady by my side, dropped my mail in the box, and didn't get a second look from anyone! I have found that many businesses/stores are really okay with you bringing a dog in--as long as the dog behaves. Of course, I wouldn't bring him in to a grocery store or restaurant--well, maybe Starbucks. Once when I was dog sitting our neighbor's toy dachshund I took her into Menard's with me. I brought her in wrapped up in a blanket, set her down in the cart and off we went. No one even batted an eye and "Mr. Bojangles" got the thrill of her life!

Where to Begin?

2011-05-27T08:32:00.006-05:00

Wow! Where do I begin? It's been a long break since my last post here. I confess I've succumb to the addiction that is Facebook and I've been posting little snippets on there instead of here. Mostly because I just haven't felt the need to write a lot of long, interesting posts lately. But much has transpired in our household since my last post in March 25th (2 months ago). So, here we go:

Katie finished her Special Olympics swim season with 2 gold medals out of 3 events. It's been so amazing to see her develop as a swimmer these past few years. This summer I am really committed to finding her a private swim coach to work with her more. Swimming is so good for her and she doesn't get as hot and tired out as with other sports. Katie has also done very well in school and she earned a spot on the Heritage Middle School Honor Roll for the semester. She continues to love movies, art, and being alone in her room!! Typical pre-teen in many ways.

Josh has had a busy, productive past two months. He joined Henry Sibley High School's robotics team and he participated in the MN state team competition on the U of M campus. It was quite the event! Never in my life have a seen a larger collection of geeky smart high school kids! It was a neat thing for him to be a part of. He did the software programming for the robot.

Josh also built a virtual world/computer game for a charity auction. He spent hours on this thing and his product was auctioned for about $300--all proceeds went to a charity for sick kids. It was neat to see him so pumped about working on something that would only benefit someone else. The program he worked with is called Minecraft and it's rather like a computer generated world that you build out of lego-type blocks. Josh was a lego-maniac from age 4-13 so this game is a fun more adult way of playing with his favorite toy.

Josh took his AP Biology test in early May. Taking the AP Bio class this year was a huge endeavor for Josh but he absolutely LOVED it!! The over the top intellectual intensity of the course reignited Josh's passion for learning that got buried under too much busy work these past few years. We won't get his scores for the exam until late June but he felt he did well. He will get 1 full college-level science class credit for his passing grade on this exam. Well worth the test fee. His only regret is that he can only take 1 more class with this science teacher--she is awesome! Mrs. Nippert is a nationally awarded science teacher. She is a science nerd, rock star, and Red Bull ad all rolled into one. An excellent combination for a high school teacher, I think!

And finally, with the AP Bio exam over with Josh has been kicking up his fitness routine. He has started walking 3-6 miles 3x/week at night in addition to taking 3 advanced TKD classes per week. It's fabulous to see him doing this for himself, and by his own choice. He's been losing weight and I'm very happy for him.

Caleb earned his blue belt in Tae Kwon Do--which is the first advanced belt. He now goes to the advanced class with Josh & Matt and he loves it. The head instructor/owner of their studio asked Caleb to be the student assistant for 6 weeks of after school TKD classes at Caleb's elementary school. He was thrilled to help and he did great! Caleb also finished out his Chess Club year being the highest ranked player in the club and the coach's choice of best player. Caleb really likes chess and he's participated in a few tournaments. But, on the weekends (when these tournaments occur) he would really rather be outside playing with friends than sitting indoors for 6 hours playing a board game. And I'm good with that. His coach has personally called me several times to let me know how talented he thinks Caleb is with chess and how much he wants to see Caleb do more tournaments. But, Caleb isn't asking to go to these events so I'm not pushing him. At 8 years of age, and given our family's struggles with obesity, I would really rather have him being involved in physically active pursuits than chess.

My Mr. Matt, my wonderful hubby, has continued on his improved health journey since March. He's now lost 105 lbs. and he's worked up to running 3+ miles 3x/week plus taking double TKD classes 3x/week.! One year ago he weighed 105 lbs. heavier and he could barely jog a block and now, he's amazing. Two Saturdays ago he ran 6.2 miles to the TKD studio then took a 60 minute advanced TKD class. Afterwards he went outside and helped clean up the studio's lawn/grounds. The rest of the day at home he was about his normal Saturday business--chores, doing stuff, like no big deal. I'm so proud of him!!

As for me, I got my first series of steroid injections in my arthritic knees in March and OMG has that made a difference! I've now worked up to walking 4.5 miles without pain and without having to collapse on the couch afterwards. I feel really good about this. My weight is coming off slowly but I'm just so thrilled to be able to be active again. I've enjoyed volunteering at Caleb's school on Thursday mornings for 3 hours. I work in his classroom doing whatever project his teacher has for me. Sometimes it's a craft with the kids, sometimes it's math, sometimes it's practicing a play--it's all good. Then I go and work with the magnet school coordinator or the library staff on projects. I truly enjoy being in this positive environment and getting to know the staff better. I still hope against hope that I will find a part time job in our school district, but until then, volunteering is great!

My Mom had her 80th birthday party last Saturday and my sister and I organized the whole thing. It was a lot of work for the 2 of us, but we got 'er done! Mom had a lovely time, the food was great, and all her friends and family had fun. I put together a 20 min. slideshow of Mom's life with a new computer slideshow/movie program. I was able to add titles, background music, special effects to the photos, and my own narration. I had a lot of fun doing it and Mom seemed to enjoy it! I'll tell you what, if you ever want to gain a new appreciation of your parents spend 30+ hours organizing a scrapbook or slideshow of their life. Working so closely with all these photos of Mom, getting letters from her school friends, reading all the kind words and memories they shared about Mom, and putting it all together in a sequential order REALLY, REALLY, REALLY made me love and appreciate my Mom more than ever!!! My Mom has led a quiet life, but a courageous, optimistic and impactful life. I never truly saw that before I worked on this project. I'm blessed to have Mom as my Mom.

Our doggie Brady is loving all this new family activity. He gets out with Matt for run cool downs, Josh for late night distance walks, and me for daytime walks. He's totally happy and totally exhausted!

I think that's all I can think of for now. I'm going to try to start using my blog again more regularly then just link it to Facebook. TTFN!

It's the Vitamins

2011-03-25T10:44:00.004-05:00

Well, my energy boost on Wednesday was definitely from my new vitamins. I didn't feel jittery, but I was full of energy all day, didn't need my typical afternoon nap and stayed up until 10:30pm reading. I was awake at 6:00am feeling great. Today I'm going to take just 1 vitamin and see what the effect is. If feels good to feel good.

We're heading out to the Science Museum today (me and the kiddos) then I will start my first walk training day this afternoon. Yay!

Energy Plus

2011-03-24T10:58:00.004-05:00

Wow! Not sure if it's the new vitamins I'm taking or the Green Tea I had at lunch, but boy was I full of energy yesterday. I didn't need my afternoon nap--which I ALWAYS need--and I was still awake and peppy at 1:15am! We'll see what happens today. Caleb has been reading some books on the Solar System this week. One of the books has mini experiments you can do at home to demonstrate astronomy principles. So yesterday we read about the planet Mercury and how its surface temperature fluctuates from 662 degrees F during the day to -274 degrees F at night. WOW! What a change in temps. The experiment called for baking cookies then repeatedly freezing them and re-baking them to observe the effects of repeated exposure to temperature extremes. Well, we did the experiment, but didn't observe any real change in the cookies (they were supposed to develop cracks in them from expansion and contraction), but it was fun anyway. Amazingly enough I only ate 1 bite from 1 cookie then gave the rest to Josh--the mix wasn't a 10 on my taste list!! Good for me.

I was lamenting/daydreaming the other day about all the fun things I could do with Caleb if I homeschooled him. I'm not going to, but there is just so much fun curriculum and books out there to use at home. What I decided instead was to make an effort to do more stuff like this planet experiment over the summer. We're all home and together so there's no reason not to do some fun unit study projects. That should satisfy my homeschooling itch.

Back to last night, I read until 1:30am then tried to sleep. Since I was still wide awake at 2:00am I turned on the light and continued reading my new book until about 3:00am. The book is called Bloodroot and it is authored by Amy Greene. It's the story of an Appalachian family over several generations. Very interesting so far. The atmosphere is very dreamy and the narrative is folksy but not overly dialectic like a Mark Twain novel. I'm enjoying it. One of my favorite things to do any time of the year is to cuddle up with a book in bed and read until I fall asleep. Caleb has taken after me in that way. On school nights he is in bed at 8:30pm but he is allowed to read until 9:30pm. Then he's up at 6:15am on the dot. On non-school nights he's in bed by 9:00pm and I let him stay up reading until midnight. He's been known to finish an entire chapter book in one night reading this way. He LOVES to read.

Couch to 10K--UPDATED!

2011-03-23T16:39:00.011-05:00

Yesterday I went to see an orthopedist regarding my arthritic knees. I was diagnosed with osteoarthritis in my left knee two years ago. Now I have the same pain in the other knee and the x-ray confirmed that I do indeed have OA in both knees now. I have been trying to lose weight since the fall and I've lost only 10 lbs. But, for every 1 lb. you lose it takes 4 lbs. of pressure off your knees. So, my knees currently have a 40 lb. lighter load to carry than they did last fall--which is good. In fact, losing weight and getting regular exercise (including strengthening the affected joints) are the only things that can significantly reduce OA symptoms in the ankles, knees or hips. Shots and anti-inflammatory drugs simply manage the symptoms for a time--they don't "heal" OA. But these options can help manage the symptoms so that you CAN get the exercise your joints need to lose weight and get stronger so that your OA symptoms can be significantly reduced.

I will openly admit that I am 47 years old and my starting weight last fall with WW was 247 lbs. on my 5' 10" frame. This is the most I have ever weighed in my life--even pregnant! Yuck. My ultimate goal weight is 165 lbs. Once I lose all that weight I will have taken 82 lbs. off my body and an incredible 328 lbs. of pressure off my arthritic knees!!! Isn't that amazing??!!! So, with a condition like mine losing weight is the MOST important and BEST thing I can do to diminish my OA symptoms.

Matt has committed to running in the 10K Bellin Run in Green Bay, WI on June 11, 2011 (just 11 weeks away) and he has already started a couch to 10K runners training program. I really, really want to walk in this race so I talked to my ortho doc about it and she gave me the a-ok. I did end up getting a cortizone shot in each knee yesterday which should help reduce inflammation and pain for 4-6 weeks. She said I can also take up to 800mg of Ibuprophen 3x/daily if needed for pain. The shot should help my knees feel better which should help me to get out and walk more consistently. I don't mind pain when exercising or after exercising. What I have trouble with is knowing how much and what kind of pain is too much. I tried out a few TKD classes with the family and all the twisting, kicking and jumping made my knees feel yucky and made me feel scared of injury. After consulting with my orthoped I feel more confidant that doing this walking program will be a good thing for me to do and even if I feel some pain chances are slim that I'll injure myself with just walking. So, I'm very excited to begin my training program on Friday (by my docs recommendation).

So, today I am committing to two new goals to accomplish by June 8th (my WW weigh in day). First, I will start my 10K walk training program this Friday. It is a 9 week plan for beginning walkers to take you from casual 15 minute walks to being able to walk 6.2 miles (10K) in under 2 hours. You walk 5 days a week and gradually build up speed and distance. I feel this is reasonable and do-able for me. My second goal is to lose an average of 1.5 lbs. each week for the next 11 weeks. This will equal an additional 16.5 lbs. off my body by race week and a total of 27 lbs. off my body since the fall. But with losing just 27 lbs. of body weight, the pressure on my knees will decrease by 108 lbs.!!! Obviously, that will help them ALOT!! Although I can't "control" how much weight comes off each week I feel confidant that if I really focus on losing 1.5 lbs. each week and consistently exercise 5x per week I should be able to lose the 16.5 lbs. by June 8th. I'm energized by these new goals and I feel they are realistic but will require me to stay focused and be more disciplined. After accomplishing these goals I know I will feel great (emotionally and physically) and I'll be primed to keep moving toward my ultimate goal weight of 165 lbs.

Now, does anyone want to join me? If you are near to Green Bay, WI and would like to join us on June 11th, here's a link to the Bellin Run race page for you to review. Matt will be running, I will be walking. Josh & Caleb just committed tonight to walking it with me. I will get Katie out to train with me too and we'll see how far she can work up to by race day. If you decide you want to do the race, you are invited to join our (my sister's) The Urban Frog Cafe race team. My sister will provide free t-shirts for all Urban Frog team members!

If you're intrigued by the goal of training for a 5K or 10K race in an area closer to you, here is a link to the Runner's World Find a Race page. You can fill in the form and find races (running & walking) in your geographic area. Or, just google "5K race in name of your city/state". You should be able to find some local/nearby races coming up in your area. Hey, if I can commit to do this, you can too! Then let me know and friend me on Facebook so we can check up with each other!

Revival

2011-03-16T16:58:00.004-05:00

Yay, my weight loss has finally been revived! I'm down 2.8 lbs. this week for a total of 10 lbs. gone since the fall. This has been super, duper slow only because I have been fooling around and not really working the plan. But I made some drastic changes this weekend and I plan to stick with this restrictive plan for 2 weeks then I'll transition back to more variety. I just had to get that scale going again and motivate some significant change in my eating habits. Indulging in food is very much an addiction and heart matter for me.Thank you Lord for putting this interim plan in my lap! I pray for continued breakthrough and revival! Jesus you care very much about what I LOVE, CRAVE, and am DEVOTED TO. Please help me to break off and overcome my love affair with food and exchange it for a renewed love for you.

Absent

2011-03-15T10:37:00.008-05:00

I've been absent from writing for a long time now. Mostly due to having nothing to say and because I've been trolling on Facebook too much. I'm thinking it's time to get back to writing a little bit in my blog every day. I've always kept a journal and/or written letters but those things have fallen by the wayside of late. Time for something new.

Matt & I have committed to participating in the Bellin Run in Green Bay, WI on Sat., June 11, 2011. Matt plans to run the 10k (6.2 miles) while I will walk it. Caleb will probably walk with me but he might run it too. Josh & Katie have not committed either way. My sister Sue started this whole thing as this has been a goal of hers for many years. Last fall she purchased a health food restaurant in Green Bay called The Urban Frog. So as the owner she wants to lead a team of folks to run/walk this race together. She promised us a free t-shirt if we joined her team. So, how could we refuse?

Anyway, Matt found a 13 week "couch to 10K" training course which he started following last week. He's up and running for short times now 1-2 mins. with walking intervels. He's feeling great. Our dog, Brady, is his running partner and he seems to like it as well.

I go in next week to see an orthopedist to get some injections in my arthritic knees. This is supposed to reduce swelling and pain for up to six months. Once that's done I'll start training in earnest too. Right now I have almost constant knee pain. Exercising does feel good, but I'm still afraid of pushing it too far. So, I'll talk to the Ortho man next week about that. I have started back with my water aerobics class which feels good but I don't think it's really high intensity enough to make any significant change in my weight or cardio health.

I am just so proud of Matt's accomplishments with his health these past 8 months. He has lead the way in our family to improved health and fitness--and everyone else has followed, except me. When Matt started Weight Watchers in May (2010) we eliminated all main course second helpings and dinner rolls/bread from the dinner table for everyone. The only thing we allowed extra of was vegetables or salad. For the first few weeks the kiddos ate everything on their plates and dove into the extra vegies and salad. But within a few weeks the kids were just content to eat their one portion. And now, 8 months later, it's common for them to leave food on their plates--this NEVER happened before! Since that time Matt has lost over 100 lbs., Josh has lost 30 lbs., Katie has lost 20 lbs., and Caleb has lost 8 lbs. I've lost just 7 lbs. which is lousy, but at least I didn't gain any weight. Caleb is pretty slim now and I've told him to make sure that he eats something when he's hungry.

Of late, Katie has been opting for just salads on some nights. She could still lose another 15 lbs. or so to be at a healthy weight for her height. Since Katie has Down syndrome she may or may not grow any taller. Many kids/adults with DS have short stature. At 12 years old she is just over 5 feet tall now so she may be done growing. She has swim team 1x/week and TKD 3x/week. As the weather gets warmer we'll try to get her out for some walking too. She has an adult tricycle which she can ride but not independently yet. She's still a bit afraid of tipping over. But the nice thing is that since it's an adult size she's not going to grow out of it. When she's ready it will be there for her. I plan to use it once the snow is gone for short trips to the store. It has a large basket in the back for bags/bundles. Caleb is really good on his bike too so he'd be able to join me on these excursions too during the summer.

Speaking of summer we already have several fun events planned so far. June 10-12 we'll be in Green Bay for the Bellin Run and visits. July 3-10 we'll be on vacation to BugBee Hive Family Resort. The weekend of July 16-17 Katie and I will go to Green Bay again to celebrate her 13th birthday with my Mom & sister. This has become a tradition for Katie now and she always starts talking about it right after Christmas. Last week she even started packing a bag up to go--4 months early!!! My Dad will probably come for a visit sometime in July as well. We'll have a fun time taking him to our Science Museum, the Underwater Aquarium at the Mall of America, the MN Zoo & an IMAX show and out for dinner and some live jazz music in Minneapolis.

In early August Caleb will attend a YMCA week long day camp. He'll have a chance to do archery, hiking, canoeing, outdoor cooking, nature crafts and wildlife study. This will be a big deal for him to do on his own and he's excited about it. That same week Matt & Josh will help run and play in the Redemption Card National Tournament at our church. Hundreds of players from all over the U.S. will convene to compete and hang out. Caleb will go for 1 day of competition but leave the other two days to the big guys.

Somewhere in there we'll also fit in a basketball camp for Caleb, working for Aunt Sue in Green Bay for Josh, private art lessons for Katie and lots of trips to the Y pool and the local library. I love summer with my kiddos. One book I really, really, want to read to the kiddos this summer is the original Mary Poppins book. There are six original Mary Poppins books written by P.L. Travers. I never read them as a child and I'd like to read them to my kids and see what they think. Last summer we read the original Peter Pan and, I hate to say, it was a bit of a disappointment. The language was very archaic and the plot was confusing. We made it through the whole thing but I can't really say I enjoyed it. I do have high hopes that Mary Poppins is more readable.

If the weather cooperates this year I hope to get some annuals and an herb garden planted early so we can have some lovely flowers blooming all summer long and some fresh herbs to cook with.

In the meantime, I wait and hope for the snow to melt!

Football Fan Fun

2011-02-07T09:59:00.009-06:00

I wouldn't call myself a super duper football fan, but since my mom grew up in Wisconsin I have always cheered for the Green Bay Packers. Of course this only intensified once my mom moved back to Green Bay in 1981, I attended college in Wisconsin, and I ended up marrying a die-hard Packers fan. So, watching the Packers win the Super Bowl last night was very fun. This morning Matt cruised YouTube for some good Packers songs and he found this one below. I'm not into rap, but I think this if very cute:

Then, of course, Matt had to keep looking for a video to spoof the Minnesota Vikings and he found this one. I've been laughing all day about this one. It is hilarious; and true!!!

I've Got a New Husband!

2011-02-03T16:56:00.004-06:00

Lately I feel like I've got a new husband. Since May Matt has been following the Weight Watchers program and attending Taekwondo lessons 3x/week. Just last week he hit his -100 pounds mark.

Yes, Matt has lost 100 pounds in just 8 months.

He looks like a new man and he is so much happier now. We just bought a second round of new work clothes for him since he's been losing. He looks great! I wish my camera worked so I could show you a photo of him. While we were looking at shirts he was actually choosing some with bright colors instead of the gray, brown, black, dark green he usually goes for. I guess he's ready to step out from the woodwork and be seen! Matt would still like to lose another 50 lbs. to get to his WW goal weight but he's looking great right now. The martial arts training has really re-sculpted his body into a very lean muscle build. For the 28 years I've known Matt he's always had a football player type build--very broad shoulders and bulky muscles. The TKD has truly transformed his physique into a long, lean, fighting machine. I'm so proud of him and thrilled that he's making these changes now before he suffered a health crisis. I started back to WW with him in the fall but I haven't lost much yet. I still haven't committed to change but I do feel I'm moving in the right direction lately. Even with the cold weather I've been getting out for walks with the dog & Matt a few times a week. My knees don't seem to hurt much in the cold weather. I've actually been able to walk for 45 mins. straight which I haven't been able to do for at least 2 years since I was diagnosed with osteoarthritis in my knees.

A Little Cup of Heaven

2011-01-29T16:35:00.004-06:00

I took Katie to her special olympics swim team practice today. We were timing the kids for their upcoming area swim meets. Katie will compete in the 25M freestyle, 25M backstroke & 50M backstroke. Two years ago she won a gold medal at State in the 50M backstroke. She made some good times today and swam really hard and well. We have some great atheletes on our team this year.

Anyway, after the practice I promised to take her out for a snack. We stopped at McDonald's a got a fruit & yogurt parfait off the dollar menu. It was very good. While Katie was eating hers she said "This is just delicious. It tastes like heaven." Later she said, "this tastes like love." So totally cute. I enjoy her metaphors for descriptions. She is definitely connecting the dots in her life experiences.

True Me

2011-01-27T16:04:00.003-06:00

One day at a time. One day at a time. I will lose weight and I will reach my goal weight one day at a time. Today is the only day I need to focus on for healthy lifestyle choices. Today. The eating monster is pestering me right now. What I really want to do right now is make a batch of cookies and eat the dough then all the cookies. I want to shovel sugar and chocolate in my face. But I am NOT physically hungry. My body does not need food right now. It's my mouth and my feelings that want soothing right now. Why? I'm bored, I'm procrastinating. I have chores I should do and I don't want to. There's too much time before dinner to do nothing, but not enough time to do anything worthwhile so eating would fill that activity gap. I feel like I've got a hamster on a wheel running around and around inside my heart right now. I'm feeling anxious, bored, fidgety, I wonder if I'm in the early stages of Alzheimer's. Some days I'm pretty sure that I will one day be diagnosed with it; that would make sense to me. Do something, do something, do something. I need to do something. Writing helps. I'm going to go fold something laundry right now then clean out a closet.

Christmas Recap

2011-01-11T08:47:00.004-06:00

Our Christmas season was very homey and cozy this year. We didn't do much other than stay home, play games, do puzzles, and watch movies. But it was all nice. I so enjoy having Matt & the kiddos all home at the same time. After 16 years of being a stay at home wife and mom, home is truly where my heart is and where I am most contented. I truly hated to see everyone go back to their routines on Jan. 3rd but all good things must come to an end. And besides, now that the days are getting longer summer is really nearer than not!

Matt & the kids are still all enjoying Taekwondo (TKD). Matt just moved up to his green belt and Caleb just needs to retest on his forms then he will graduate to green belt as well. Josh will test for green belt in March. Katie is in her white belt and she will probably be ready to test for her orange belt in March. Once Matt & Josh are both green belts they will probably start attending the teen/adult level class at 7:30pm instead of the family class (which they all attend right now) at 6:15pm. The higher level class will be a better challenge and physical fit for Matt & Josh. It's funny sometimes to see my 6' 2" Josh paired up with a 4' 4" little kid to do fitness and self defense drills. Katie is really enjoying TKD and she expects me to come to at least 1 practice a week to watch her. That is very important to her! The staff and other students are very encouraging and supportive of Katie. It's nice to see her finding her place in that community of people.

Katie also just started up her Special Olympics swim team this past Saturday. She did more water ballet dancing in the pool than actual competitive swimming, but, she was moving for the whole hour which is good for her. She'll have three swim meets this season--a local meet with the Eden Prairie team, an area meet with teams from Dakota county, and the big MN state meet with teams from all over MN. The swim meets are a lot of fun and very exciting once you get in the routine of them. There is a lot of down time/waiting time between heats, but I enjoy seeing all the kids on our team compete. This year I'd like to find/make her a warm up robe that she could put on before and after she swims. Sitting in a wet bathing suit all day can get pretty uncomfortable and cold. One of the teams have these really nice team cover up robes as part of their uniform--but they are from a "rich" district. I want to figure something out for her that's warmer than the pants & pull over she currently has. Suggestions are welcome.

Our Christmas tree is still up but hopefully we'll get that put away this week. Matt & Josh have been really sick for the past week or so with colds so I've been on double duty with home management stuff. No time for "extra" chores, just the basics. Today I'm still working on laundry. I truly can't ever seem to stay on top of it. Not sure if we all have too many or too few clothes, but I just know that something's not right. Oh well.

Enter 2011--Mad, Bedecked with Weeds

2011-01-04T12:37:00.004-06:00

After reading an AP story about 3,000 red-winged blackbirds falling out of the sky on New Year's Eve, I think 2011 may very well be entering history with a certain insanity and chaos about it. One of the medical investigators concluded that the birds were simultaneously confused by fireworks going off in the area. Hmmm, doesn't seem likely to me. Probably more to this story than is being reported right now.

Anyway, today's post title is my all-time favorite stage direction, see King Lear, Act IV, scene 6. In our college days Matt & I often argued Shakespeare. He tried on various occasions to convince me that Lear was the best of the bards' plays. I was never convinced. At that time, my sensibilities preferred the psychological thriller that is Othello. This was one argument we never totally resolved but we've enjoyed quoting this stage direction to each other for the past 20 years.

What will the year 2011 hold? No one but God alone knows for sure. And I'm okay with that.

Advent Conspiracy Promo Video

2010-12-05T13:18:00.004-06:00

I'm posting this in recognition of a conversation Josh & I had after church today.

Exercise

2010-12-04T11:37:00.006-06:00

Is there anyone else out there like me? If I'm not exercising regularly I get lazy, sleepy and depressed. When I am exercising regularly I feel awake, energetic and optimistic. So why don't I stick with an exercise program more consistently? Today I took Brady out for a 30 min. walk in the snow. We just got 8 new inches of the white stuff yesterday evening/night. Today, the sun was shining and the temp was in the 20's--perfect weather for an outdoor walk. I put my hearing aid assisted MP3 player on to some worship music and walked. It was lovely. I feel really good right now. If I could just get myself to commit to and actually DO this every day I know my life would improve immeasurably. Any suggestions for how to get it done?

In a Funk

2010-12-02T16:17:00.001-06:00

Thanksgiving & Family

2010-11-30T20:25:00.003-06:00

We had a nice Thanksgiving weekend. We drove to Green Bay, WI on Wednesday and stayed through Sunday morning. although we had a motel room it was still a bit cramped for all 5 of us. Next visit I'll need to book two adjoining rooms which will be better for everyone. The mini waterpark was fun but poor Caleb. Apparently his skin is sensitive to the chemicals in the pools. After his third visit to the pool his skin was a pink burny rash. We got him some aloe vera lotion but it didn't really help. He stayed out of the pool for the final two days and he felt better. I used to have the same problem when I was his age--very sensitive skin.

We got to visit my sister's new cafe--The Urban Frog. It is totally cool and the food is fabulous (and healthy). I will be doing some marketing/PR work for her long distance. Today I redesigned a coupon that she wants to use this Friday for an event. Nice to be able to create it then just email it to her for printing. I really love working on my computer so this is a great little "job" for me.

On Thanksgiving day and Friday we got to visit with extended family members. It's always so nice to see my Harpt cousins and my Auntie Sue! Although they lived in WI and we lived in CA during our growing up years, we were all pretty close. My mom and Aunt Sue regularly wrote letters back and forth and we visited each other about every two years or so. One summer my sister and I spent the whole summer in WI with Aunt Sue and Uncle Elton Harpt. My Grama and Grampa Kowalski were with us too. Wow was that a fun summer! Lots of kids to play with (six in the house + neighbor kids), lots of swimming, lots of fun things to do. We took a trip down to Chicago to visit the Museum of Science and Industry. We had three adults and six kids crammed into Uncle Elton's red & black station wagon. At some point on the trip my sister threw up in the car and our muffler fell off. What an adventure that was! I don't know how my Aunt and Uncle kept from killing us kids or losing us in the museum or at the Motel 6 pool! That was THE best summer of my childhood. What a treat to have sweet corn--just sweet corn--for dinner some summer nights. For a city girl like me that was a treat. Matt grew up in the country and they had it almost every night. So he can only stomach 1/2 an ear a summer now!

The summer (was it 1972?) my sister Sue and I spent with our Harpt cousins there were six of us kids. Sue was 14, Steve was 13, Lisa was 12, I was 9, Jeff was 8 and Sara was 4. My oldest cousin Steve was always cooking up some wild idea to make money, mischief, or just a mess. He built a three par golf course in their big backyard then charged people to play it. We also went out hunting for night crawlers at midnight after he had the lawn sprinklers on for 3 hours after dark. He kept these big fat worms in the basement and sold them to fishermen in the early mornings. I always thought Steve was super cool. I remember playing the card game "Spoons" with all my cousins as well as multi-player solitaire. Steve taught Sue & I how to play a card game called "Spit" which was very fast-paced and fun. He also taught me how to click my tongue really loud, how to do a bird call and how to reverse shuffle playing cards. It's really no surprise that he has been a teacher and headmaster at Bana ba Metsi School for many years now. Steve actually started the school himself to reach at-risk youth in Botswana, Africa. He has lived in Africa for most of the past 30 years since a two year post-college stint with the peace corps. Steve comes home to WI every 2-3 years and I really try to get over to Green Bay to see him if I can. He's smart, funny, a big flirt, and the life of the party wherever he goes. Aunt Sue, Uncle Elton, Steve, Lisa, Jeff & Sara Harpt--I've always thought of them as second parents & siblings. I love them all dearly.

Jeff had the whole family over for Thanksgiving day. He and his girlfriend Patti are wonderful hosts & cooks. The food was plentiful and delicious! The wine flowed as freely as did the conversation. I had a great time. It was fun to see his kids and Lisa's children. Her oldest daughter, Emily, will be getting married in 2011 and she just bought her first house. Very cool.

Oh, if, if, if, the opportunity ever presented itself, I'd move to Green Bay in a heartbeat. But, I don't really see that happening any time soon with the economy so bad right now. Well, visiting is good too and it's close enough that I can go over several times a year. Katie likes to go with me and when it's just the two of us we can stay in my mom's apartment with her. Katie loves to do this and she especially loves to help Grammy Jane with her walker or anything else. Katie is a natural born care-giver, just like her mom, and her Grammy, and her Great Grama.

I am thankful for many things and many people. But mostly, for family.

Everyone is Getting Older

2010-11-23T10:05:00.004-06:00

Hi! I just received this link from a high school friend of my sister's (they graduated in 1976). I certainly recognized all these songs except the Garth Brooks one--I've never been a country music fan. But very funny. Matt & I have seen this comedian, Tim Hawkins, before. He is very funny and does clean comedy.

Testing my Trust

2010-11-22T14:58:00.005-06:00

Saturday night Josh went out with a friend of his from our church. This young man is very responsible and Matt also knows him quite well. The boys headed down to a local gameboard store to play some games. Afterwards Josh stopped in at 10:30pm to say that he was going to spend the night at Jeremy's for an all night board game marathon. Fine, that's fine. About 11:00pm we got a call from Josh saying that he and his friend were stuck on a major interstate hwy. in freezing rain. Jeremy's van was sliding all over the road so they pulled off. Another car pulled over in front of them and a third car slid up next to them and lightly side-swipped them. They weren't able to get in contact with Jeremy's folks and we were too far away to help them with the bad roads. We talked to both the boys and they seemed pretty calm. We told them to just sit tight and wait until it looked like the ice had melted. They had a full tank of gas. So we prayed for them and waited for their next call.

We happened to have friends over for dinner that night too. Everyone started leaving after Josh's phone call. Twenty minutes later 1 couple came back to our house to spend the night. They said there were cars littered all over the highway and in ditches, no traction at all. We stayed up until about 1:00am when Josh called again and said that they were finally able to move. They would slowly head to Jeremy's house and call me once they arrived.

Although I had the phone by my bed no call came in that night or the next morning. I tried Josh's cell # & Jeremy's # and got voicemail. In the morning our regular phone was out but our cell phones still worked. Josh finally called around 10:00am to tell us what happened. Although where they were stopped was only 15 mins. from Jeremy's home, it took them an hour to make it there. They didn't arrive home until 2:00am. Needless to say no board games were played that night. Both boys totally conked out.

Matt went to pick Josh up and they arrived back home safely at 11:00am Sunday morning.

This was the first time I've ever been separated from one of my kids when they've been in real danger. Although it sure wasn't pleasant I was able to sleep and didn't immediaetly start calling hospitals in the morning. I felt at peace that both Josh and Jeremy are responsible, clear-minded young men and that they would know what to do in this situation. I also had to just give Josh over to God knowing that although I could do NOTHING to help Josh Saturday night, God could. And I believe that He did.

I'm sure this experience will give both Jeremy & Josh a new respect for weather conditions in Minnesota. And that's a good thing. Although there were over 200 car accidents reported Saturday night in the metro area, only 1 was a fatality.

Maybe it's Me?

2010-11-17T15:26:00.003-06:00

I mentioned in a previous post that I had contacted two of my children's teachers to offer some weekly volunteer time. Now both of them have told me that they don't really need me. This is dumbfounding to me as I always thought that teachers were desperate for extra help in the classroom. Well, these women must either be very organized or it's just me. I haven't had the greatest of success in making connections with other people lately, maybe I need to change my deodorant; or my personality. Hmmm.

Click for a Gift

2010-11-16T11:20:00.017-06:00

Okay, here it is--the easiest gift you'll buy all season! It's called Thinking of You Eau de Parfum and Thinking of You Scented Body Lotion and it is THE hottest fragrance for women for the holiday season. This fragrance is brand new from Mary Kay Cosmetics and it is gorgeous!

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My gift sets also include:
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FREE extra gift with a $40 purchase (put in her stocking or give to someone else!)

My Thinking of You Thoughtful Set includes all of the above except, she gets just the Thinking of You Scented Body Lotion, a custom lip color in a mini glass slipper, and she gets a gift certificate for a free facial, makeover & $15 off a Mary Kay skin care set.
This set is valued at $44.00 and sells for only $29.

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I look forward to helping you click for a gift this season. I offer complimentary gift giving assistance for any of your other gifting needs.

A New Experience

2010-11-16T08:38:00.004-06:00

Yesterday I contacted two of my children's teachers to let them know that I'd like to volunteer for 2-3 hrs. in their classroom each week through the end of the year. I still haven't heard back from one. But from the other teacher she said she doesn't really need much more help as she already has 4 parents who do stuff for her. WOW! That's a new experience for me. Usually teachers are desperate for parent involvement and help. I guess that's a good sign at our school. So, I'll just be going in to her classroom for a 1/2 hr. each week then I'll see if someone has anything else they'd like me to do in the building for an additional 2 1/2 hrs. Amazing!

I've been cooped up in my home for too long now and it's time to venture out and re-start the volunteer engine. I am a homebody by nature but after burning myself out with volunteerism a while back I've really stayed close to home for the past 2 years. I'm feeling better now and ready to "do" something for others.

The other thing I've thought of is finding a place I could rock babies--hospital NICU or such. But I'd probably have to go through a ton of training for that. When I was a teenager I trained as a candy-striper (that's striper, not stripper!) for our local hospital in San Diego. I had a really cute red and white striped jumper that I wore over a white shirt. The shirt had to have a peter pan type collar and I also wore white earth shoes and white tights. I went through several weeks of training and had a test before I was "certified" to volunteer. I was able to work on the pediatric floor (which was my first choice) and I enjoyed reading to the kids, refilling water jugs, taking specimens to the lab, visiting with patients, and when it was slow, folding the tons of laundry in the laundry closet. It was quiet enjoyable work and made me feel good.

Today's Accomplishment

2010-11-15T13:43:00.005-06:00

After cleaning the boys bathroom today I decided that something must change. So here are my:

NEW RULES FOR THE BOYS BATHROOM EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY TODAY!!!

1. Make every effort to pee into the toilet bowl--not on it, not next to it, not on the floor.
2. But, if you do pee on something, clean it up. Paper towel, cleaning spray & trash bags are in the cabinet under the sink.
3. If you spill or make a mess, clean it up. Paper towel, cleaning spray & trash bags are in the cabinet under the sink.
4. Brush your teeth twice a day and put your toothbrush back in the cup.
5. All trash must be put IN the wastebasket, not thrown next to it!
6. If you use the last bit of toilet paper, put out a new roll.
7. If you use the last roll in the cabinet, get more from the upstairs bathroom, then tell Mom.
8. When showering, put the bathmat/towel down on the floor so the floor does not get wet.
9. When showering, close the shower curtain all the way and make sure it is inside the tub so that the floor does not get wet.
10. After showering, fold up the bathmat and hang it over the side of the tub.
11. All towels MUST be hung up in the bathroom after use. Not slung over a chair in your room or left on the floor.
12. All dirty clothes must be removed from the bathroom before you leave.
13. Caleb will do a quick clean of the bathroom every T & TH (Mom will show you how.)
14. A clean rug must be on the floor around the toilet at all times. EVERY Saturday Josh will change the dirty one for a clean one. The clean one will be stored in the cabinet under the sink. The dirty one should go in the white round laundry basket in the laundry room for mom to wash.
15. Josh will fully clean the bathroom every week--before 5pm Sunday! This includes changing out the towels for fresh ones.
16. VIOLATORS WILL BE SEVERELY FINED!!

Signed, Your Loving Mom

Doing it Anyway

2010-11-10T09:44:00.010-06:00

Anyway

by Mother Teresa

People are often unreasonable, illogical and self centered;
Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives;
Be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies;
Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you;
Be honest and frank anyway.

What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight;
Build anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous;
Be happy anyway.

The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow;
Do good anyway.

Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough;
Give the world the best you've got anyway.

You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and God;
It was never between you and them anyway.

SIMPLE HOLIDAY SHOPPING!!

2010-11-09T13:00:00.010-06:00

HOLIDAY SHOPPING MADE SUPER SIMPLE!!

Okay, here's the deal: you and I both know you're going to buy gifts for lots of folks in the next 6 weeks. And I want to earn your business!!

Here's the top 5 reasons to shop with me this holiday season:

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3) All my products are 100% guaranteed--if your recipient doesn't like it for ANY reason (even after they've opened it and used it a while) they can contact me for an exchange. Macy's won't do that, neither will JC Penny's, Walmart or Target!!!

4) ALL my gifts include:

FREE gift-wrapping
FREE gift certificates (this adds value to your gift without extra expense for you)
FREE candy
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So, really, folks, is there any reason why you wouldn't want to shop with me this holiday season? I guarantee you'll be thrilled with my products and customer service.

Click here for my E-catalog which will show you all my regular line & gift items. However, I have put together some cool custom gift sets--from $2.50, $10, $25 to $50.00--for men, women, teens & business associates. If you'd like a price list/description page of my customized sets just contact me and I'll email it to you.

My personal website: www.marykay.com/kathiebrinkman
My business email: kathiebrinkman@marykay.com

I Did it to Myself

2010-11-09T11:54:00.002-06:00

I will overcome with worship music, housework and Mary Kay work.

Well, She Did it

2010-10-19T18:58:00.003-05:00

After almost 2 years of watching the boys do Karate Katie has finally stepped onto the mat. She had her first two Taekwondo lessons last week and another tonight. I watched her on Thursday night and she did just fine; no problems following the instructions. I was so proud of her. She'll have two weeks of free trial lessons then we'll need to sign her up. But since we have three other family members taking lessons adding her on will only cost $20/month--isn't that cool? Once she gets her TKD uniform I'll post a picture.

A Different Journey, but the Same Destination

2010-10-13T16:22:00.005-05:00

Our daughter, Katie, was born 12 1/2 years ago. She happens to have Down syndrome. Since that time we've experienced so new things and we've shared many common experiences with other families.

Katie's first friend with Down syndrome was Angela. And her mom, Leah, and I became fast friends and remain so today. Leah writes several blogs and is very active internationally in the Down syndrome community via the internet. Today she wrote a lovely summary of her life with Angela (so far) on her blog that I'm linking to here. Our journey with Katie so far has been very smooth sailing as far as medical issues have been concerned, but our families have both arrived at a beautiful, splendid, joyful, and amazing place with our special daughters.

If you are a new parent of a child with Down syndrome, or if you know someone who is, please have them read my blog and the link to Leah's blog above. Both of us moms can honestly say that we consider ourselves truly blessed to have a child with Down syndrome.

Katie the Fashionista

2010-10-12T12:37:00.003-05:00

Here is Katie's 6th grade school picture. I'm not too proud to say "Isn't she just gorgeous?" She loves her scarves and hippy/dippy style clothes. I just love her.

A New Season

2010-09-21T08:56:00.006-05:00

Well, summer has been here and gone and school has started. Fall has arrived. Josh turned 15 on August 23rd and is currently in Driver's Ed. classes at his High School. Caleb turned 8 on September 11th and enjoys reading in bed from 8:30pm to 9:00pm, then independently shutting off his light. Katie was 12 on July 17th, just got her braces off, and has started wearing a bra. Matt will be teaching an Astronomy class next month at a tech college. I've stepped up my vision with my Mary Kay business and am currently pursuing a middle management position. And, finally, I'm considering shutting down this blog since I just don't seem to ever feel like writing for it. A new season has blown in.

Like millions of other people around the globe, I've been hooked in to the Facebook phenomenon and I find myself posting there instead of here. A sign of the times I suppose. FB is for quick snapshots of what's on my mind, what I'm doing, how I'm doing, etc. A blog is for more in depth, lengthy writing. And for many months I just haven't felt the need to write anything in depth or lengthy. A new season indeed.

Our dog Brady has even entered into a new season of his life with us. He's calmed down quite a bit and he's much more tolerant of everyone--not as much Mr. Grumpy Growly anymore. He still ran away twice this summer but he was quickly found near by our home. Brady is maturing into a great family dog. When the kiddos leave the house to get on their morning buses Brady stands at alert in the window watching them until they are gone. Around 1:30pm every day I lay down for a cat nap on the couch before Caleb gets home. Brady will generally climb up on my stomach and lay down on top of me. That's his Mommmy time.

Matt and I are enjoying more frequent jaunts out together now that the kiddos can all pretty much take care of themselves. Josh is still our primary babysitter, but Katie and Caleb basically just need someone here in case of an emergency, they don't really need constant supervision. Matt has been attending a Weight Watchers "At Work" program at his office. In his first 17 week cycle he lost an amazing 65 lbs.!!! He looks and feels so much better. He continues with his martial arts training 2-3x a week and walks every night with Brady. Two weeks ago I joined him in the next 17 week cycle of WW at his office. So far, so good. I'm not really thrilled to be doing WW again, but I know that I need it. I've been trying, in vain, to lose this weight on my own and I just can't seem to do it. It is nice to see Matt midday on Wednesdays and to meet some of the people he works with. After being home for 15 years I often feel somewhat intimidated around office people, but it's good for me to get out and meet other people.

We've even changed church locations. We are now attending church at the Roseville location of North Heights Lutheran Church. It's the original location of the congregation, has older buildings and fewer attenders than Arden Hills. We like the preaching pastor and hope to get to know more folks there as time goes on.

So a new breeze is blowing in our family life, a new season for all of us. I'm not sure what that will mean, but I do know we will weather it together.

'Twas the Night Before School

2010-09-06T21:54:00.003-05:00

"Twas the night before school started and all through the house,
not a human child was stirring nor even a child mouse.

The backpacks were hung near the entryway stair,
in hopes that the kiddos would find them without care.

The supplies have been purchased and brought in to the schools,
There was paper and pencils and all assorted tools.

My alarm clock is set for 6:00am,
All the kids leave by 8 then I will breathe an AMEN!

"Get up, brush your teeth, wash your face, now get dressed,
To the table, eat your breakfast, take your vites and don't make a mess!!"

"To the door! Grab your lunch and your pack, and go out."
"Run to the corner, there's the bus now" I shout!

I wave them goodbye while they drive out of sight,
"I didn't get my kiss" I whisper,
. . . then sob with all my might.

Almost Gone

2010-08-17T01:00:00.005-05:00

Well, I hate to admit it but summer is almost gone. It's been fun, relaxing, busy, lazy, filled with water, movies, good books, iced tea, swinging in the backyard, chores, de-cluttering, cook-outs, yard work, swimming, laying in the sun, sleeping in, salads, playing board games, taking naps, garage sale-ing, sidewalk chalk, running through the sprinkler, thunder storms, playing outside, and fruit smoothies. In other words, this summer has been just what summer should be (in my humble opinion). But, alas, all good things must come to an end. . .

Last night I turned off the A/C and opened the windows for some fresh cool air. Temps got down to 65 degrees overnight and I even felt a bit chilled in the morning. It felt wonderful! Had another mild lovely day today as well--with no A/C. Today is August 17th and although we'll probably have some more hot days this month, within 4 weeks from today the temps will start to drop little by little. Then if we're lucky we'll get one more week in October of "Indian Summer" with temps in the 80's. Soon after that the temps will start their slow, constant descent into the nether reaches of the thermometer. And we won't see 65 degrees again until about May. I can't say that I love winter, but I have grown accustomed to the changes of the season and I think I'm ready for fall.

Today the kids opened their Kid's Cafe in our backyard. They ran all over the neighborhood handing out fliers to let everyone know that they were open for business (this is their 3rd year doing it). Within an hour we had six teenagers, 2 adults and 4 kiddos munching on snacks @ 25 cents a bag. It was fun to hang out with everyone. I even got a Mary Kay re-order in the mix.

Our house is the hangout house for the neighbor kids. I never really relished this idea but I now like it--most days! I'm glad that my kids feel comfortable bringing their friends to our home and that the friends want to come in. Josh and his buddies have pretty much outgrown sleepovers now but for several years there it was an every other weekend event. None of the other parents in the neighborhood wanted 8 teenage boys hanging out in their basement and sleeping there all night--except us. The boys were really never much of a bother for us since we have a split level house--they have their floor, Matt & I have ours. However, I did insist that everyone who was staying had to be settled in the house by midnight--no middle of the night wanderings. I wanted to lock my door at some point!

Three of the neighbor teens will graduate from high school this year and then who knows. I'm glad we moved out of Cottage Grove when we did six years ago and I'm glad we ended up in this house. It's a good place to raise a family.

Placing My Foot in a New Place

2010-08-11T22:29:00.006-05:00

I've recently placed my foot in a new place with my Mary Kay business. This poem is sooooo my life story . . . up until now.

MY COMFORT ZONE
By Author Unknown

I used to have a comfort zone where I knew I wouldn't fail.
The same four walls and busywork were really more like jail.
I longed so much to do the things I'd never done before,
But stayed inside my comfort zone and paced the same old floor.

I said it didn't matter that I wasn't doing much.
I said I didn't care for things like dreams and goals and such.
I claimed to be so busy with the things inside the zone,
But deep inside I longed for something special of my own.

I couldn't let my life go by just watching others win.
I held my breath; I stepped outside and let the change begin.
I took a step and with new strength I'd never felt before,
I kissed my comfort zone goodbye and closed and locked the door.

If you're in a comfort zone, afraid to venture out,
Remember that all winners were at one time filled with doubt.
A step or two and words of praise can make your dreams come true.
Reach for your future with a smile; success is there for you!

For Half His Life

2010-08-02T13:19:00.003-05:00

August 1, 2010 was Matt & my 23rd wedding anniversary. Matt was 22 when we got married so as of today he has been married to me for more than half of his life. Unreal! At this point I'm pretty sure we're in this for life; besides the 20 year warranty expired 3 years ago!!

We had a lovely evening with a two hour dinner cruise on Lake Minnetonka. It included potent margaritas and a fajitas buffet. The weather was lovely and we chose to sit on the top deck outside. We shared a table with a lovely older couple from Minneapolis. They are native Minnesotans but have lived in CA for the past 30 years. Now they have returned "home" to retire and be with grandkids. We had a nice time getting to know them and seeing all the huge estate homes along the lake shore. After that tour last night I am more convinced than ever that having your own business is the way to go to really build wealth.

Matt & I reminisced about all our travels together over the years. We've lived as a couple in Green Bay, Wisconsin; New Brunswick, New Jersey; Livermore, California; Knoxville, Tennessee; New Richmond, Wisconsin; Cottage Grove and West St. Paul Minnesota. It's been a good life so far. I expect the next 23 years will be even better. It was a good day.

Mom Moments

2010-07-26T09:19:00.004-05:00

Last night I had a time warp experience. I stood in the hallway and watched Matt teach Josh (my 14 year old) how to shave! Wow! When did he grow up? And why can't I make time stand still? I stood there and teared up as I realized (again) that my first born is really, truly, turning into a man before my eyes. I do not regret the years I've spent at home with Josh (and siblings). Although I have made a lot of mistakes I know that Josh knows that being with him and being there for him has been one of my top priorities for his entire life.

I do not regret the hours and hours and hours that I've spent reading to him from babyhood on. I do not regret the hours spent putting together 700 piece Lego sets on Christmas morning. I do not regret the years we homeschooled and all the things we learned together. I do not regret the breakfast table devotions we had together to start our homeschool day. I do not regret the things I sewed, made or painted for Josh to show him how dearly he was loved. I do not regret the days spent together doing nothing in particular. I do not regret the shared stories, ideas, dreams, conversations, questions, trips, outings, snuggles on the couch, hours of rocking when he was sick.

My life is rich indeed with the privileges of motherhood. What an honor it is to spend time with these kiddos of mine. The years fly by so very quickly. I'm so glad I've been able to be here to experience it all.

Summer

2010-07-24T08:56:00.006-05:00

Well, we've had a wonderful summer so far. I will not acknowledge that it's _____ over. Some of our high points so far have included:

Katie & Caleb attending Fine Arts camp and Vacation Bible School; lots of Taekwondo lessons at the boys' new dojo, week long vacation to Bugbee Hive Resort, doing morning crafts at Bugbee Hive, performing our first Brinkman Family Players skit at Bugbee Hive, playing hours of Carcasonne with Josh, watching Katie & Caleb drive their own motorized go-karts for the first time, playing hours of other board games with Katie & Caleb, getting a suntan, reading fun summer novels, backyard cookouts, going to movies, reading aloud some Boxcar Children books, swimming at the YMCA outdoor pool, water aerobics at the Y, girls weekend to Beaver Dam and Green Bay with Katie, Katie's 12th birthday.

Coming up will be our 23rd anniversary with a day trip to Red Wing's outdoor folk music concert, Josh's 15th birthday, basketball camp for Caleb, lots more swimming at the Y, making two outdoor stepping stones, and Kid's Cafe (been too busy to do it so far this summer). I am just having so much fun with my kiddos this summer. They are all at such a great age. They can go and do without any fuss, but they are also happy to stay home and occupy themselves when I need to nap or clean. Life is good.

Inception Movie Review

2010-07-23T09:45:00.007-05:00

Wednesday night Matt and I went to see the new Leonardo DiCaprio movie called "Inception." It was very, very cool. The basic story is that Leo is hired to implant an idea in a very wealthy young man's subconscious so that he will decide to break up his father's business empire. In exchange for the job Leo's criminal record will be erased so that he can return to the U.S. and live with his children. Lots of psychological twists and turns, cool special effects, and awesome music. It is rated PG-13 mostly I think because kids younger than this would find it boring. Great movie for an intellectual 13+ year old. This is one we'll probably buy when the edition with special features comes out.

BP's Last Ditch Solution

2010-06-24T09:49:00.003-05:00

But it Seemed Like Such a Good Idea

2010-06-22T16:54:00.005-05:00

Today I got my hair cut really, really short. As short as it's been since I got married. I asked for this, but I'm not super happy with it. It will be great for summer swimming, which is the reason I did it, but with my poker straight hair it's a bit too spikey for my preferences. But I'm sure I'll like it better in 2 weeks. I'm not posting a photo yet, maybe later. Or maybe not.

Toy Story 3 Movie Review

2010-06-19T12:29:00.007-05:00

Katie and I went to see Toy Story 3 last night. It was sooooo cute! The movie stands alone just fine so even if you are one of the 5 people who haven't seen the other two Toy Story movies, you'll still enjoy this one. But if you are a Toy Story 1 & 2 fan you'll absolutely LOVE how this final chapter of the toys lives unfolds. It has danger, high adventure, moral delimmas, humor, romance, and justice for the bad guy. Katie has loved the Toy Story movies for many years and I've also become a fan. Actors Tom Hanks and Tim Allen lend their superb humor and voices to the main characters of Woody & Buzz. I had tears freely falling for the final 10 minutes of the movie--it was so sweet and so heart-wrenching. Go see it, you'll love it. Then come home and re-watch or rent the first two Toy Story movies. You'll understand why Pixar is such an incredible film studio. They haven't made a stinker yet.

Girls Weekend

2010-06-18T14:48:00.006-05:00

When the boys are away, the girls will play. Matt and the boys left at noon today for a Redemption Tournament down in Austin, MN (about 2 hrs. south). So Katie and I are bacheroletting it through Saturday night. We just spent 2 hours at the YMCA pool swimming. I used to hate to swim but now I really enjoy the water. We swam some laps together for exercise then played with pool toys for an hour. Then I finished up our time with some more laps while Katie played in the water. I'm really loving our new family Y membership. Now that my kids are old enough and independent swimmers I can really relax and have fun at the pool. When they were little I still had to be "on guard" whenever they went in the water. It's great now. I am even allowed to let the kids swim without me while I go use the fitness center; I just can't leave the Y. This option gives me so much more flexibility in doubling up on our time there. I get to work out and still come and play with them; they get to swim and get some exercise and gain some more independence (all under the watchful eyes of 5 lifeguards!, but still).

Anyway, our plans for the rest of the day include an afternoon show of the just released Toy Story 3 movie, then dinner at Applebee's. Home afterwards with some books in bed. Tomorrow morning we're going to a big church rummage sale, bake sale, kid's carnival. Zoie is going with us. Not sure if we'll do more rummage sale-ing for the afternoon, swim at the Y or just relax at home. Probably touch up our toenail paint too. No big cooking Saturday night and probably a movie before bedtime.

Katie is at an age now where she is so capable of doing so many things. When she and I get to spend an entire day or weekend together we really have fun. For many years she didn't have the physical stamina or emotional or behavioral stability to do more than 1-2 hours of anything outside our home in a day--1-2 errands and lunch and she was "done" for the day. Or 2 hours at a park and that was it--she'd start to lose it. Now we can go shopping, to a movie, lunch, and an errand or two and she's just fine. Her maturity and behavioral stability certainly makes our life at lot easier to manage and it's a lot more fun to do things with her now.

Well, just about time to leave for our movie, gotta go and get my girlfriend!!

My Poor Boy

2010-06-15T13:16:00.005-05:00

Josh had his wisdom teeth out today. He actually has 5 of them but the surgeon was only able to get 4 of them today. He said he'd rather let the 5th one just move down into Josh's mouth naturally in the next two years. Then it wouldn't be so invasive to remove. So, Josh dodged that bullet for today.

We waited for almost an hour for his surgery and then it was over within 20 minutes. He's resting in the basement family room on the futon right now. It's quiet, dark and cool down there. Just the way he likes it. I get to baby him for a day or two while he's recovering--I don't mind at all. The other kiddos will just lay low today as well with movies and books. Our "summer" weather has been non-existant since the kids got out of school on Friday. But I'm sure Mr. Sun will make a reappearance eventually.

I'm glad to have my kiddos home for the summer. We have lots of fun outings planned with day camps, library activities and swimming at the YMCA. Should be a great time.

Eeyore Day

2010-06-10T21:00:00.001-05:00

Wedding Weekend

2010-06-07T16:00:00.007-05:00

Matt and I had the joy of going away overnight on Friday night to attend a wedding up in Duluth. One of the young men Matt knows from church invited us to his wedding and we made the 3 hour trip up north to be there. Matt's sister Chris was generous enough to stay with our kiddos so we could stay overnight instead of having to drive back home 3 hours the same night. Anyway, the wedding was lovely and the couple was cute. In their early 20's like just Matt and I were when we got married. Man, we didn't know ANYTHING about marriage or life. But, thank goodness, otherwise we never would have made taken that step. Sometimes ignorance truly is bliss.

In the hotel room I stayed up until 2:00am watching back to back episodes of TLC's "Say Yes to the Dress." Which is about brides selecting their wedding dresses. It was a fun show to watch after the wedding. Matt was asleep within 5 minutes of laying down since he'd worked an overnight shift in addition to his regular work day on Thursday. Saturday morning Matt took me to a nice restaurant for breakfast overlooking Lake Superior. It was foggy and cool. We had a great time talking and reconnecting on the drive up, reminiscing about our own wedding, and talking about plans for our immediate future--this summer. Getting away together is always such a good thing for us to do.

Summer Plans

2010-06-02T08:25:00.006-05:00

Today I actually feel awake this morning--not usual for me--so I am going to tackle cleaning my family room downstairs and the laundry. We are rearranging our FR to include a weight lifting bench and martial arts punching bag in the alcove area. This summer our whole family is going to focus our time and effort into increasing our fitness levels. The boys will all continue with martial arts--probably 4-6x/week. Katie will start 4x-5x/week swimming (if I can ever reach the St. Thomas pool contact person, that is). I will continue water aerobics 3x/week and add weight lifting 3x/week. Katie and I may also add martial arts classes with Caleb. We need to meet with the head instructor at our new martial arts school and talk about how we could adapt the lessons for Katie and for me and my osteoarthritic knees. If that's not a go Katie and I will stick with the swimming and maybe I'll get her up on her bike.

Other goals for the summer--building a tree house for Caleb in the backyard, doing some fun crafts with the kiddos, reading aloud some great children's literature. I truly love summer and having my kiddos home for the summer. And yes, by mid-August I am ready for them to get back to school, but I truly love having them all to myself for the summer months. School doesn't set our agenda then, we do. That's one of the things I miss about homeschooling--being in complete control of our family schedule. Once kids enter any school system part of your family time is governed by the school. Whether it be homework that must be done in the evening or school activities/meetings, etc. But as I've said many times before each educational option has it's advantages and disadvantages. And each one can be the right choice for a family in a particular season of life.

What are your plans for the summer?

Can I Hear You Now?

2010-05-28T18:24:00.009-05:00

No, not yet, but I'm closer now.

On Wednesday I saw an audiologist and had my hearing tested. It showed in numbers what I already knew--I have a mild/moderate loss in my right ear and a moderate/severe loss in my left ear. But interestingly enough, both ears have parallel results for the various frequencies. I'm better in both ears for higher pitches and the worst in both ears for low pitches--which is why I have the MOST trouble hearing my dh's low, soft spoken voice. The Doc said that my loss results are consistent with my childhood medical history of having numerous ear infections, tubes and a T & A as a young child. Even as an adult I've had at least 6 ear infections over the past 20 years and my last one in December (coupled with Swine Flu) ruptured my left eardrum--again. So, anyway, time to get this taken care of.

Today I plunked down my over $5,000 for 2 digital hearing aids and I should have them within 2 weeks. I was able to try one on in the Doc's office and man oh man did that make an improvement in my hearing. I loved it! My family is excited for me to see how my quality of life will improve because of this new technology. I'm not thrilled about all this, but I am grateful that the technology is available and that we had the $ to pay for them. I'm getting two Phonak Audeo Smart IX aids and a free bluetooth connection device for my cell phone. It will be good.

Process Begun

2010-05-19T09:42:00.004-05:00

Today I made the first committed step in attaining better hearing. I made an appointment with an audiologist for a hearing test. I already know that I am a candidate for hearing aids in both of my ears, but at this point Matt and I agree that I really need to get the aids, not just talk about getting them. I've chosen to work through a company that my MIL recommended back in March. I read a lot of information on their website then contacted them for an initial inquiry. I spoke with their midwest rep. who was very nice and professional. Basically what they do is refer customers to a local audiologist who does the testing and recommends a type of aid. My rep. will then work with me to find the exact model and price that will best suit my situation and budget. Since my rep. just emailed me a $400 off coupon for digital aids I decided that it was time to get the process started.

I have an appointment scheduled for next week with an audiologist just 10 minutes away. She'll do all my testing, recommend an aid, and depending on what type of aid I need to get, I should have them within 4-21 days. I'll then have a full six weeks to use the aids at home before I actually commit to them. If I'm not satisfied with how they are working for me I can return them to the company for a full exchange or refund. So, we'll see how this goes. Or should I say, hear how this goes.

Of Weeding, Wiener Dogs, Fajitas & Madison Ave.

2010-05-16T00:04:00.007-05:00

A rather odd sounding title huh? Well, that's what the best of my day was filled with. I fooled around on my computer with MK stuff until 12:30pm then spent the afternoon outside weeding in our backyard. It was a glorious day today--sunny and in the 70's! We're babysitting Mr. Bojangles the wiener dog from next door for the weekend so every time I took a water break she had to crawl up in my lap! Our patio and play area looks a lot better but I'll need to do a bit more tomorrow. After a day outside I pooped out on fixing dinner and let the kids have pizza for the second night in a row--bad Mom that I am! Matt saved our waistbands by cooking some yummy chicken fajitas from scratch--after the kiddos were in bed. He even used fresh red & green peppers and fresh onions. When I do fajitas I do it the lazy way and use the frozen peppers and onions. His were much better. He chopped and cooked while I cleaned up the rest of the kitchen from the AM and afternoon--yucky! We enjoyed a glass of cheap Chardonnay while listening to the soundtrack from the movie August Rush--great music, check it out.

Anyway, once dinner was prepared Matt and I settled in to watch some episodes of a Netflix show from AMC I'd never seen before called "Mad Men." It's about Madison Ave. advertising men in the early 1960's. Interesting so far but oh so sexist!! My, my. It's hard to imagine what life was really like for women back then with no real choices other than get married and have children. Although I'm living a very traditional lifestyle, it was my CHOICE to leave the workforce before we had children. I did get a college degree and I did have a career before "retiring." Even after having kids I could have chosen any number of career paths to pursue instead of full time stay at home wife and mom. Back in the 50's & 60's most women just worked until they found a husband, then they quit and started having babies right away. Women who chose to work after getting married were odd and daycare as we know it didn't even exist back then so most women couldn't work outside the home anyway once the kiddos came along. I recall my mom telling me that after she and dad got married (in 1954 ?) he didn't want her to work anymore. If a man's wife worked it was a sign that he wasn't a good enough provider, not that she might have some other ambitions outside the home. Anyway, I digress, the show was quite good and we'll watch some more this week.

The Color of Your Good

2010-05-06T09:00:00.012-05:00

If you could, which of these good things would you want to multiply in the lives of others--Confidence, Inspiration or Compassion? Maybe all three? For the month of May 2010 I can help you multiply the good you do with a special offer. I am currently running a special in my Mary Kay Cosmetics business that supports our company's Beauty That Counts charitable campaign to help end domestic violence. Please watch this video below.

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For $100 in purchases, you receive 1 FREE Confidence, Inspiration or Compassion lipstick and I will multiply your donation by 13 for a total donation of $14.00 to The Mary Kay Foundation.

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An End and A Beginning

2010-05-05T08:49:00.005-05:00

Saturday evening we received sad and shocking news--our beloved USA Karate school in Inver Grove Heights was closing immediately due to financial problems.

This came as a heavy blow to Josh and Matt. Caleb however took it just fine. Since that time Matt has been diligently researching other martial arts schools in the area. USA Karate operates two other schools within 30 mins. of our home--one in Woodbury and one in Burnsville. But both those options seem so far away when we're going 3x a week at two different time periods (so essentially, 6x a week).

I took Caleb to the 5:30pm blue belt class at the Woodbury location last night. The facility is very big, very loud and very far from home. It took us 30 mins. to get there with light traffic on Hwy. 494--add in some snow or heavier traffic and it will be 45-55 mins. one way. Caleb was a bit overwhelmed by the large class he was in but in the end he said he liked it. Matt, Caleb and Josh will go tonight for another class. Last night Matt and Josh left 30 mins. before their class started and still didn't make it on time. Both of our main routes to the school have rush hour traffic at class times and bridge traffic. I just don't know yet what we're going to do. The idea of this much time in the car, dragging Katie along for this, and sitting in class is unappealing to me, but I do want my guys to continue with this sport. The other route we could try would be through the Cottage Grove corridor and come into Woodbury from the backside. This route is still a long distance but traffic should be nil once we're on 61S.

Matt has been researching Martial Arts schools like crazy since Saturday. We do have quite a few options that are closer to us. The boys visited Midway Judo on Monday night. Matt liked it, but the boys weren't super impressed. Matt and Josh really want to continue with contact sparring. Matt is also interested in Judo as it is similar to the wrestling that he excelled at in High School. Both of them just both want a really good, hard workout 3x a week. Caleb doesn't like the sparring so much but really likes the weapons and forms elements of Karate. Unfortunately, from the schools we've looked at online the only one that offers something for all my guys is USA Karate in Woodbury.

The other option may be for the boys to just split up--Matt and Josh go one place and Caleb to another. There are separate facilities closer to home that could fit this option. But it has been nice to have the boys at the same school for their own camaraderie.

A few years ago I would have scoffed at the idea of my family running here and there in the evenings and breaking up our family dinner time. Now that the kids have gotten older I've come to realize that this is just part of this season. Yes, we could choose to not allow our kids to have activities and keep them home every night, but I don't think that is best for them. For me the point is finding a good balance. Weighing the needs of the one (or two or three) against the needs of the family as a whole. This karate thing has been such a positive thing for my boys, they love it, and they have all benefited from the physical training and mental discipline of it. I know for sure that I want them to continue and I will make adjustments in our family schedule to accommodate the classes. But, how much accommodating we can do is the real question. For now I do not have any solid answers.

A Budding Poet

2010-04-30T08:45:00.004-05:00

On Thursday night our family attended a poetry reading at the Dakota County Library. A few months back Josh entered a poetry contest for teens through our library system. We recieved a call Wednesday night that Josh had won 3rd place in the contest with his poem about the Holocaust. Here it is. I think Josh has some very deep thoughts inside that head of his.

Speak

As the smoke from the fires
Still clings to the air people walk out
Beaten, bloodied, bruised changed beyond all recognition
Out of the camps they go into the joy of freedom

Though they are free in body their minds will always stay there
They will remember what happened to those who remain there
And they will speak
The Living shall speak for the dead

When their stories are scoffed at and they are put to shame
By people who refuse to see the truth
Bones of the dead shall cry out from the earth
To testify the horrors are true
The Dead shall speak for the living

After those who remember are gone
After the bones of the dead have crumbled to dust
Does what happened there be forgotten?
No WE must carry on and remember the truth
For the Dead and the Living we shall speak

Pretty deep for a 14 year old white boy, huh? I may make an English major out of him after all. Just don't tell Matt.

"Date Night" Movie Review

2010-04-29T12:39:00.006-05:00

For our date night last Saturday night Matt and I went to see the movie Date Night. It stars Steve Carell and Tina Fey. It was hilarious!! If you've been married for 10 years or more you will certainly be able to relate to this flick. Note: there is a scene in a strip joint but it is more funny than sexual. Go see it with your mate and have a good talk afterward! Once this comes out on DVD I'm buying it. It will make a great addition to our collection of touching, humorous, and true-to-life marriage movies such as: Parenthood, Family Man, Fireproof, Shall We Dance?, and It's a Wonderful Life.

Receiving God's Love at a Garage Sale

2010-04-29T09:53:00.009-05:00

Katie had an orthodontist appointment this morning before school so we headed out early and actually finished way before school even opened for kids. So with some time to kill and $20 in my wallet we decided to hit a garage sale if we could find one. Late April is generally the opening of Garage Sale Season here in MN. The kiddos and I LOVE garage sales. The season lasts until the end of September, but if the weather stays warm there could still be a few around in October. After that folks around here hunker down for the winter. MN folks run most garage sales Thursday-Saturday, rarely on a Sunday. And once summer hits many sales will run just Thursday early morning to Friday afternoon. We have lots of people who go up to lake homes/camp sites in Northern MN for the weekends.

Anyway, Katie and I did find a nice sale near our ortho. Katie, as always, wanted to scout out for Barbie dolls. She was not disappointed. This sale had several lovely Barbies still new in the boxes. Katie found a Collector's Edition Sleeping Beauty Barbie for $15 that she fell in love with. Katie promised me that she had the money at home and she could pay me back. Hmmm, I doubted that and the doll seemed a bit pricey for a garage sale! We went back and forth for a bit. I still thought the doll was a little overpriced. Then suddenly a lady came up to Katie and handed her a $20 bill and said "You just get your Barbie and anything else you want. Please let me show you God's love today." How could I refuse that? Katie was thrilled and the lady selling the Barbies was speechless. Katie hugged and thanked her new friend, Debbie over and over. Debbie bought a bunch of other things then drove away. After Katie paid for the Barbie we gave the remaining $5 back to the lady who was hosting the sale. I told her to use that $5 to gift something to another child who might stop by today. She was flabbergasted that we'd do such a thing.

Could I have paid for the Barbie myself? Sure. Could I have refused Debbie's offer because we didn't need any charity? Sure. But Debbie's generosity wasn't about our need, but about her wanting to demonstrate God's unconditional love to Katie today. And how rude would it have been for me to refuse this gift and basically tell God "No, my daughter doesn't need your love today"? Have you ever refused a sincere gift (or offer to help) from a friend or stranger because of your own pride? I have, and I know I've hurt others by my pridefulness. Would your response had been any different if God had been the one offering the gift?

Just a Glimpse

2010-04-28T08:31:00.003-05:00

For a short glimpse into the trip my friend Leah just came back from, please click on this link to see her stunning personal slideshow.

Gift Genie to the Rescue!

2010-04-27T16:49:00.014-05:00

Did you know Mother's Day is just 11 days away (Sunday, May 9th)? Do you need a special gift for your Mom, Mother-in-Law, Grandma, or Yourself for Mother's Day? Let me be your personal shopper, save you time and money, and offer you free gift wrapping and delivery!! Read below and watch the video for the best deal around!!

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Finally Home

2010-04-25T18:25:00.004-05:00

In a previous post I wrote about my friend Leah who was trapped in Bulgaria for a week due to the Icelandic volcano. Well, she finally made it home Saturday night around 11pm. She's home safe and sound today just cocooning with her family--which is exactly what she should be doing. Thank you to everyone who prayed for Leah or donated money to get her home.

Josh the Wino

2010-04-25T18:11:00.010-05:00

Not much going on today or this weekend. Last weekend Josh was in his high school production of "Little Shop of Horrors." It is a satirical musical about a man-eating plant. My sis and mom came over from Green Bay for the weekend to see the play and Matt's mom and sis came on Saturday afternoon to see it. Josh was one of only two freshman who got a part in the play and he was very funny. He had a non-speaking role as wino #2, but whenever he was on stage he managed to throw in some physical humor that made the audience laugh. Josh enjoys acting and loves to make people laugh. He doesn't think he wants to pursue acting as a career, but just a hobby. He's good at it too. Here are a few pics from Little Shop.

Stranded in Bulgaria

2010-04-20T12:05:00.015-05:00

Some of you may remember that I've talked about my friend Leah Spring who also has a child with Down syndrome. Well, long story short, she is currently stranded in Bulgaria due to the volcano ash and trying to find a way to fly home. She went there 2 weeks ago to help another mom (Shelley Bedford who is a military wife) adopt her 3rd foreign orphan who has Down syndrome (Kullen) and to meet with Bulgarian parents who want to raise their special needs kids instead of abandon them to an orphanage. Leah has been updating all her friends and family via Facebook and it's been a fascinating journey of the heart.

However, Leah and crew were supposed to fly home last Friday, April 16th. They have been stranded since then with no extra money and Kullen is sick and needs to see a doctor in the US!! Right now the travel industry is price gouging everyone and selling tickets to the US for $3,000-$8,000 US dollars!!! The US embassy in Bulgaria have arranged for them to fly to Moscow, then to Seoul on Friday. Leah's ticket from Seoul to home will be several thousand dollars which she needs to raise in the next 24 hours.

Here is a link to Leah's website for the whole story along with a donation button through PayPal. If you can donate anything to help her get home, please do so.

The Value of Pink

2010-03-29T11:31:00.005-05:00

All these customer service benefits are built in to ALL Mary Kay products--truly! I love it!!

Back and Gone Again

2010-03-29T10:58:00.003-05:00

I had a nice Career C0conference Friday and Saturday. But had to come home early due to a migraine. I slept it off Saturday afternoon then watched Julie and Julia with Matt on my computer in bed. Very cute movie. Saturday night I dreamt about Julia Childs all night long. Sunday we skipped church and took the little kids out for Frisbee Golf. After that Matt took them out to New Richmond, WI for cousin Gracie's 1st birthday party. Josh and I stayed home. I did lots of laundry and napped some more. Last night we did most of our packing for our little trip to Duluth today. This morning Matt and I went out to breakfast and now we're just about ready to leave again for Duluth. Happy waterpark hoteling to us!! Catch ya on the flip side.

2010-03-29T10:57:00.001-05:00

Outta Here

2010-03-26T16:19:00.002-05:00

All tasks done. Family cared for. Bag packed. I'm outta here!