Babies, Brownies and Blessings

I think I can safely say we're on the go. Claire has started walking more than crawling!

I need some new clothes. This Dave Ramsey thing has kept me out of the mall for two years now and I'm ready to get back in. Most of my clothes are either 5 years old or second-hand. Second-hand is GREAT but it's hard to find that perfect summer dress in my size, the exact color and right length at a consignment shop. Isn't this cute?? I had a few extra kid-free minutes the other day so I ran to a boutiquey store at the Rosedale Mall. I won't name names because I wasn't impressed but you may get a clue from the title of this post. I'd heard wonderful things about this little store and while I knew it was high-end, I also know that a few of my favorite clothing pieces were ones I had splurged on. There's something about the fit and feel about the perfect clothing item. Sometimes it's worth spending a little extra. And I had a little extra in the budget that day. I walked in looking pretty decent, I think. My hair may not have been perfec...

*a birthday blog a couple days late...* "Mom thinks I'm "free" but I'm really four." He's been saying that for a couple weeks now. We celebrated BigBoy #2's birthday last weekend but today is the day he is 4. 4. Four. Not 3. Four seems a lot older than three. Catching fish with Daddy! It becomes cliche to say every time that I can't believe so and so is x years old. But it is true. BigBoy #2 is such a little lover. Like God gave me a direct answer to my prayer for a cuddler when BigBoy #1 refused to sit still for a second. BigBoy #2 loves to be touched. He comes up to me a few times a day and tells me his arms or his back or his legs itch. Just so I'll "scratch" him. He puts my hand back on his arm if I take a break from rubbing him. He loves us big. He hates just as big. From "Mom, is that a new dress, you look so pretty!" To "I was saying in the bathroom that it was all your fault and I don...

My life has been littered with goodbyes. From second grade all the way through high school dear friends came and went. Elise, Suzanne, Danelle, Sarah, all left in grade school. The only good thing that came of that is that each paved the way for the other. And I got really good at goodbyes. This week I got to say hello again to a very dear friend from high school. Tabitha moved to Roseau when I was in 9th grade. We were fast friends and had tons of fun (and made a little bit of trouble). Tab moved down to Stillwater my Junior year but we stayed in close contact. Fast forward to rooming together, going through boyfriends and finally meeting our spouses. Weddings just months apart, first babies also months apart. Our lives were intertwined permanently. But our goodbyes were not over. Tabitha and Ted moved to Montana a few years ago. The right move for them, a tough one for me. Now our correspondence is brief phone conversations interrupted on both ends by screaming children. T...

Oh so close, just a few more days and she'll be on the go! **"Tube"ular is meant as a pun for the tube aka TV therefore a video clip for those of you who don't automatically understand my punnage!** 

I am the first to admit that my children are... naughty challenging at times. Somehow they know how to say and do hurtful things even though I didn't teach them. They also know how to yell. I may have taught them that. Playdates used to be a TREMENDOUS challenge in the early years of BigBoy #1 because he was all brute and no brain. The child was rough. No two ways about it. Gentle was just a word Mom yelled that meant absolutely nothing to him. Times have changed and my kids are a little smarter. They at least know when they are being naughty. I've gotten smarter, too. And I usually know when they are being naughty. The things is, I'm happy to reign my children in and redirect their behaviors. Heck, I'll even get after them for something that's not entirely their fault if it will benefit the entire situation. Here's the catch: You have to yell at your kids, too. :) There's nothing worse than being the only one getting after your childre...

It's been a charmed life. Grew up in a big family with parents who love me. Met the man of my dreams at a young age. Fell in love, got married. We enjoyed 5 years of "just us" before we added to our family. 3 beautiful kids later... I have been blessed with friends that are always there for me. Some I see a lot. Some I seldom see. But they are there, always, when I need them... The fragility of life breaks through the surface sometimes. Little bits of grief experienced by those around me serve as reminders to my abundance. Trials that are major detours in the lives of others reveal the rather straight path I've traveled. I'm grateful to the One who has led me, loved me, spared me, saved me. Oh that I would never forget.

Our neighbors are wonderful. Despite the fact that we live in the middle of town on a busy street, we only have one set of next-door-neighbors. They are a 72 year old man and his 96 year old mother. The boys absolutely love them! BigBoy #2 goes daily (sometimes hourly) over to visit little old Margaret and have a cup of coffe and cookies with her. Yep, he really drinks coffee...with a heck of a lot of sugar. He also helps her sweep the floor, pick up stuff and clean the patio. In return he gets to sit at the table, cuppa joe in hand and tell stories. Granny Margaret eats it right up. I'm really not sure who benefits more. All I know is we're really going to miss her when she's gone.