Friends

Good friends are hard to find. Dependable, caring, honest and reliable are not characteristics that are found around every corner.



When we moved to the Big Lake area 6 1/2 years ago, we were all alone. We were unsure of ourselves and of our new jobs, and with our families over 4 hours away, we really had no one to lean on or turn to. I started at Pinewood Elementary as 1 of over 60 teachers in the building. I felt a little lost in the crowd in such a big building. As I started networking, I stumbled across Jenine. She had grown up in the community and had been working at Pinewood for a few years. Once we found out that our children were the same age (at that time, we only had Joc and they only had Gabe), we hit it off immediately.



Over the years, Jenine and I have seen each other through a lot. We have shared endearing stories of our children. We vented and grunted our way through a Masters program. We have laughed. Cried. Cared. Shared. Danced. Hell, we even did a garage sale together! I have watched her children grow and develop into awesome kids and I am so proud to call her my friend!



Jenine and her wonderful husband, Jerry, offered to watch our kids on Saturday night so Carl and I could have a date night. So before we took off, I snagged some photos of her gorgeous family. I can't tell you how much fun I had! Here are a few of my favorites.

The Whole Fam - Jenine, Gabe, Jerry & Mette

Oh, did I mention that Mette has a little sas in her? Love it!

And did I also mention that Mette and Ella are best friends . . . they don't take that term lightly!

Three words: Cute. Freakin. Kids.

Mette and her Mama

and of course with her Daddy, too

This girl is headed for the big screen, and she is ready for her close-up.

Thanks you guys, you being . . . you!

Say What?

This piece of dialog was taken from our walk just the other night:

Me - "Look Claire, there's the moon!"
Ella - "Yep! And right over there is penis."
Me - "Honey, I think you mean Venus"
Ella - "Oh. Yeah."

Fall-tastic

I am not a perfect mother (obviously). One of my imperfections is the amount I bake for my family. My baking sessions are few and far in between. We do Christmas cookies, and sometimes, those aren't even from scratch (parish the thought!!). On most Sundays, I make cinnamon rolls before church, but those pop out of a canister, so I don't know if I can count those either. Most of the cookies I bake are made from pre-made dough that I shamelessly buy from the grocery store. But sometimes, I do get a wild hair and decide I am going to bake with my girls. And since it is fall, I thought I would make one of my favorite desserts in the whole world (do I detect a selfish motive...?) Apple Crisp. And since I was feeling really good about my "wholesome" decision, I decided to make a double batch . . .from scratch!

I started by tying on my too-cute-not-bake-all-the-time apron that I got for my birthday (thanks, Nicole!)

Then I peeled and sliced 8 Granny Smith apples

While I started mixing the ingredients for the topping, Jocie mixed the brown sugar into the apple slices.

Once we got everything mixed together, in just a short 50 minutes later we had gooey yet crunchy, sweet yet tart, apple crisp goodness!

(I am unhappy to announce that this huge portion of apple crisp is already gone - largely due to my lack of willpower. Yesterday, I had giant slabs during mid-morning, mid-afternoon and late-night feedings. It also didn't help that the last two helpings were a-la-mode. I could honestly feel my ass jiggling when I finally walked away from the pan.)

After all that baking, we decided to head outside to help Carl and Ella rake up some leaves. After Carl made a few swipes with the "yard sweeper" we got this . . . Mount Leaf-a-lotis!

Of course with a pile of this magnitude, came a jumping show that I had front row seats for.

the free fall

the run in

the super-hero


the cannon ball

The meditation jump

Claire didn't think much of the leaves, but she sure had fun watching her sisters!

1-2-3-4 I declare a leaf war, let's fight!

Uh, oh . . . I think they are turning on me!

Seriously, how can this season not be a favorite! The fun just kept coming when we headed off to the 101 Market. This place just looks like a big green house from the outside, but on the inside it holds a HUGE corn pit, an exotic petting zoo (they even had a kangaroo!), tons of Fall decor, a go-cart race track, a corn maze, and the most pumpkins in the most varieties I have ever seen! We had a great time with all the activities and left the market with our hand-picked pumpkins.

I had such a great time baking on Saturday with Jocie, that I decided to bake some Pumpkin Bread with the little girls on Sunday. I must admit - I did not make the bread from scratch. I was gifted a cute little Pumpkin Bread Mix from Grandma Judy a few weeks back, so I bought a can of Pumpkin (Martha Stuart would be so unimpressed) and mixed everything together.

The recipe was supposed to yield two loaves of bread, but because I don't have two bread pans (probably due to lack of need) I made a dozen pumpkin muffins too.

If I had to write out a recipe for this past weekend, it would go a little something like this:

8 delicious apples

3 adorable girls

1 yard sweeping husband

3 cups of laughter

2 cups of sugar

2 much eating

1 pit of corn

Pumpkins - real and canned

Mix all ingredients together with all the LOVE you can find. Place in an 80 degree oven for two days.

Yield - a Fall-tastic weekend

Claire's 18 Month Photo Session

This past week, I took Claire to some of our favorite spots in Big Lake and took some photos of her in her element . . . the outdoors.

Here are some of our favorites. If you are a family member, please let me know which one(s) you would like and in what size :)

She looks pretty sad in this picture, but it was too cute not to post :)

In this picture, it looks like she's saying, "Oh, I just love the lake".

I cannot believe Clarie is already 1 1/2 years old. She has touched our hearts so deeply with her big curious eyes, adventurous spirit and cuddly little body. She is growing and learning everyday, and I can't wait to see the lovely girl she blossoms into.

Did I ever tell you . . .

Did I ever tell you how much I love Fall? I can't get enough of the warm colored leaves coupled with the cool breeze that blows through them. I especially love the giant Maple tree in our front yard that turns from from green, to yellow, to a brilliant red before the leaves rain down to our lawn.

This next shot is taken at the trunk looking up the same Maple tree

Then the beauty turns into fun when the girls get to run into big crunchy piles with full force. There isn't enough leaves on the ground quite yet, but we know the day will come when we get to declare leaf wars and have jumping contests.

I also love the food that comes with the change of the seasons. From cold sandwiches, fresh fruit, and salads - to Minnesota "Hot Dishes", meals from a crock pot and warm apple crisp. I have been slacking in the "baking" department, but I vow to bake with my girls this weekend!


Fall also brings my favorite fashions, which consist of chunky knit sweaters (great for hiding the couple of extra pounds put on by Fall eating) and cute jeans. I also trade in my flip flops for boots made of leather - painted toe nails and freshly filed heels no longer necessary :) It is a time where you can get out and enjoy the cool weather without having to worry about the enormous amount of clothing one has to wear in the coming months - no hats, or mittens, or scarves, or snow boots, or face masks, or long-johns, or snow pants or down coats to pile on - just you, only less layered.

Yes my friends, Fall is almost perfect. The weather, the colors, the activities, the food, the fashion - what more could one season offer? The only thing that screws up it's perfectness is . . . school . . . just kidding (kind-of).

Cheers to Fall and all it has to offer!

throw another shrimp on the barbie

For those of you who keep up with this blog, or have talked to me in the last few weeks, you know what a whirlwind of a Fall we have had. From illness to illness, it just seems to keep coming. Well . . . we just had another curve ball thrown in our direction.



About a week ago while I was giving Ella a bath, I noticed a bump protruding out of her neck right where an Adam's Apple would be. While feeling it, my stomach did an instant somersault because what I was feeling could only be described as . . .a lump. This word is often associated with very dangerous medical findings. I tried to tell myself that it was probably just a swollen lymph node or gland, and to not be a "crazy hypochondriac" mother, but I couldn't help but worry about . . . I can't even say it . . . but it starts with a C.



I called our doctor the very next day and scheduled an appointment for that afternoon. While I was teaching, I was a ball of nerves, wondering if I could have caught this sooner. The thoughts were screaming through my mind as if someone was yelling in my ear with a bull horn. That appointment couldn't come soon enough.



When the doctor was examining her, he immediately said that since it wasn't a hard lump, it didn't worry him (WHEW!!!). I felt the million pound weight lift off my shoulders and immediately vowed never to take my children's good health for granted ever again! Although the lump did not seem dangerous, he was still referring us on to an Ear, Nose and Throat Specialist, to look into it further.



Two appointments with an ENT and one ultrasound later, we found out that Ella has a Thyroglossal Duct Cyst. Unfortunately it can't just be drained like other cysts, because it would just redevelop, so it will need to be surgically removed. The cyst is also connected to a duct and part of her hyoid bone, so all of those things will need to be taken out as well. It all sounds a little scary, but the doctor assured me that patients do very well with this procedure and are back to normal in about 2 weeks.



I have never had to experience what it is like to have a child in surgery. I would be lying if I told you that I wasn't nervous about it all. But I can tell you one thing for sure, I will take a surgery over the worst-case-scenario ANY DAY!