freakin cold

Holy Cow! I know I live in Minnesota, but sheesh! Baby, it's cold outside.

Why are you surprised, you ask? It's February you say? Listen, I know it's February, and in MN we call that Febrrrrrrruary (sorry, that was really bad). But with all this talk about the ground hog not seeing his shadow, and now they're predicted an early Spring (I love that hog by the way), I was hoping to see some results! But no. I guess I will just have to wait.

Until then, I thought I would snap a couple of winter-time pictures while I still can.






(Claire was too smart to be outside . . . she stayed in with her daddy where it was nice and cozy)


Bundle-up and have a great day!

Let Them Eat Cake

This weekend, I was excited to do a whole lot of . . . not much. The past few weekends have been really fun, but I was looking forward to spending my Saturday at home instead of on the road or in a gym. Of course, because we have been quite busy lately, I had a lot of boring mom-chores that had to be done. Mixed in with all the laundry, vacuuming and cleaning, I wanted to throw in a little something that would be fun to do with the girls. Because my girls are all different ages, this isn't always easy. But as luck would have it, I just happened to have a cake mix laying around AND a tub of chocolate frosting (this never happens). I'm not really a baker-type-mom (I'm sure you already figured this out because a baker-mom would never lower herself to cake mix and frosting from a tub) . . . mostly because 1). I don't like cleaning up after baking with three girls and 2). I don't like having a butt-load of baked goods laying around my counter tempting my almost non-existent will power. But cupcakes are small, right? And fun to decorate - - and as an unexpected bonus, I just happened to find some Valentine's Day sprinkles in the cupboard ( . . . come to think of it . . . they have to be at least a year old!! But they were still sealed . . . so I'm sure they are fine . . .)!

Just a few ingredients needed . . . 3 eggs.

1/3 cup oil.

1 1/3 cup water and viola! Time to beat this batter!


look at that little smile . . . she thinks her big sister is the coolest!





While Jocie is taking care of the beating, Ella takes on the job of putting in the baking cups.




As you can see in the background, this did not fair well with Claire, so they job-shared.

Once the cupcakes were in the oven, we didn't have much to do for the next 20-25 minutes. So Ella dazzled us with some dance moves.

Then I blew Jocie's mind when I hopped in with Ella and started to preform the ever-popular Running Man. She was so impressed, that she just had to learn it for herself (or I made her get up and do it with me). Let's just say that Jocie will be the talk of the next Monticello Middle School dance!!

The best part was yet to come. What's better than chocolate frosting and (year old) Valentine's Day sprinkles? Not much.

Hope your weekend was as work-play balanced as mine! :)

They're baaaaack

Happy almost-February everyone!

more birthdays

Happy Birthday to two very important men in my life . . . my brother John and my nephew Myles John!

My brother celebrating his birthday with Jocie last year

Our little MJ

I hope you two had a great day!

that mom

I am sad to announce - - today I realized - - I am "that mom".

I am "that mom" who has a 12 year old with a cell phone. I once vowed not to get Jocie a cell phone until at least 8th grade. I thought it was unnecessary. But what do I get my 6th grader this year for Christmas . . . a cell phone. Not because I changed my mind and now think they are necessary . . . because they're not. Carl and I knew how BADLY she wanted one, so we got her one.

I am "that mom" who rolls her eyes when she sees young kids walking around (everywhere) plugged into an ipod. Now, I am "that mom" who has a 6th grade child with an IPOD TOUCH. Yes, an ipod Touch. To my defense, we did not buy this for her. We bought her an ipod nano (for her birthday). But she decided to return the ipod nano, get the money for it, pool together all of her other birthday money (except for an allotted amount that is going into her savings . . . I still have some dignity) and Target Gift Cards and bought an ipod Touch instead.

Yep, I am a poser. A mom that thought she was going to be a hard ass, and stick to what she thought was right. But, no. I caved. What's next? Designer jeans in Middle School? Highlights? A car on her 16th birthday? Stay-tuned.

celebrate

This past weekend we celebrated Jocie's birthday along with Myles's almost birthday at my mom's place. As some of you know, she lives on a lake in northwestern Minnesota. It is beautiful and relaxing and one of my favorite places on earth. Some people might think it wouldn't be fun to go to the lake when the temperature gage reads -20 . But honestly, I love going up to the lake in the winter just as much as the summer. The coffee brews longer in the morning, the cozy fleece pajama pants stay on all day, and the fire is always roaring in the evening. Because we are not out on the pontoon or lounging at the sandbar, it forces you to visit longer with your family and just be together. It's the best.

views of my mom's place . . . I really need to burn more candles at my own house . . . it's just feels so cozy.

While the rest of us lounged around the house on Saturday morning, Carl hopped onto his snowmobile to find a good place plop his ice fishing house down. Carl's two favorite things to do in the winter is ice fishing and snowmobiling - so he was pretty much in heaven :)








The birthday party officially started when Grandma, Grandpa, Dana and Ryan got to the lake. There were games to be played, good food to be eaten and fun to be had!

(only one candle left . . . you know what that means!)

Oh yeah, and cake to be tasted . . . for the first time.

Yes, there were presents to be opened, fish to be caught, snowmobiles to be ridden, and wine to be drank (or is the right word drunk . . .?) it sounds cliche, but the best part of the weekend was just being in that cozy little cabin, celebrating the lives of both Jocie and Myles.

First

Happy, happy 12th birthday to my amazing, talented, beautiful, funny, hard working and kind-hearted first born!

It was 12 years ago today that my world changed forever. After a loooong and grueling labor, a small, pink-skinned, warm bodied, blue-eyed wonder came into my life. I was young, scared, unsure of myself, but above all, I was in love. In love with this little person that would make me into the person I am today . . . a mother.

You have done so many wonderful things for me. It was you who made me responsible. It was you who made me study until 4:00am on countless nights during college. It was you who pushed me to always try to do things better. I don't think I can ever repay you for all you have done for me, but I promise to try for the rest of my life.

I know being the first child isn't always fun. You have to be the one setting good examples for your younger sisters. You will probably have an earlier curfew than your sisters when they are your age (that's just how it seems to work, right Ali?!). You will probably always have more chores and more expectations on your plate simply because you are the oldest. But, look at the bright side. You get to do everything first, stay up later, will get a car first, AND although we love you girls all the same, you can always say that we have loved you the longest!

Happy Birthday, honey! We love you more than you will ever know.