Babies, Brownies and Blessings

There have been interludes of my life as a mom that have been marked with a sort of boredom. Not a, there's-nothing-to-do-I'm-so-bored type boredom, it's more vague than that. It's a general sense of never completing anything or having something of purpose to do. Not being able to measure and state with satisfaction that I accomplished...anything. My days are marked by piles of laundry that momentarily shrink only to have them grow again. Dishes that were dirty, now clean, now dirty again. A floor that is usually mopped but never clean. In fact, I am always looking for the perfect time to mop my floor and was saying such to a friend who wisely responded: There's no such thing as a good time to clean the floor. That oddly set me free from the search of finding the right time and I'm settling on any time I can. With children at several ages of toddler and childhood we are always second-guesssing our parenting. We try to be consistent but consistently fe...

One of the things on my list when on my weekend shopping spree was some new perfume. I had a particular one in mind and was scouting the best price. From Perfumania to Nordstrom Rack, Macy's to Bloomingdales I went in search of a bargain. The perfume I was coveting was Light Blue by Dolce and Gabbana and I couldn't get enough of the smell. It somehow reminds me of the anniversary weekends I have spent with my man and mmm...it makes my heart happy. Nordstrom Rack proved the best bang for my buck and with glee I plucked it off the shelf and turned over my hard earned money. Minutes later I ripped open the package and spritzed some on me. Um...this smells different...I thought. I asked Ang to smell it and she said different but still good. I couldn't get over the musky smell because I remembered it being light and almost fruity. I got home and started doing some research. I was wondering if perhaps it had gone bad...or they changed the formula? I clicked on a p...

At the risk of sounding ungrateful during this time of remembering those we're grateful for I have to salute my babysitter. I am thankful for her. She saves my day when I can't take one more minute. Need an example? Today all I heard and felt were the screams and pokes and proddings of my three little ones. Every time I turned around someone was hurt or hungry or...something that made them cry  (and I still don't know what that thing was). Not my kid but a PERFECT example of what my day looked and felt like. I had truly reached my whits end and when my brilliant husband tossed out the idea of a babysitter. He was on his way to work and could do nothing for me but offer extremely ingenious ideas. 3 texts later and I had a sitter that could spell me within the hour. Now THAT is something to be thankful for! I left, she was happy, they were happy. All went well until I walked in again and triggered the whines by my very presence. But a break is an amazing t...

The weekend before Thanksgiving is always spent eagerly awaiting the call that Bri got a deer. We love venison and usually enjoy it all year 'round. The guys typically do quite well and fill our freezers. So far there's been very little activity and no deer even seen but there are many days to go. Which means many days of me in the house with my naughty beloved children. They are delightful when kept busy but can be a handful when home-bound which we were this weekend because BabyGirl had a fever. Somehow the circumstances were conducive to a very productive day in the kitchen! The kids were underfoot constantly but by the end of the day my counter and fridge (and their tummies) were full of food... Lefse, bread, caramel rolls, crockpot lasagna, cookie dough, and beef stew. Don't get any crazy ideas that this is my norm, I seldom accomplish so much in a week! But it's nice to have one of those days and I'm certain the snowfall contributed. It just makes ...

He taught us everything we know. Showed us what we didn't. Redefined love. Introduced us to exhaustion. Made us appreciate uninterrupted sleep. With joy we listen to his laughter  and revel in the silence of his slumber. He ushered in a new definition of family. God knew him before he was born. And chose us for him. We are forever grateful. Celebrating Samual James today...6 years old. We love you, Big Boy, and are so proud of you! Sam with his brother and cousins opening his BeyBlade stadium from Papa and Nannie! What's in the bag? Uh oh...it's a Packer shirt...and so it begins that I can no longer dictate what sports teams he likes... Bakugan battle arena! With Dad, Alyssa, Caleb, Uncle Jason, Claire, Auntie Kini and Maddie Blowing out a backwards six! Daddy and the boys... Claire got extra pretty for Sam's big day!

DIY (Do It Yourself) projects don't usually make the top of my list. I can't say I'm terribly talented in this area and I have minimal imagination. My husband, on the other hand, is a total DIY-er. In fact, I feel a bit inferior because of all he can do...but my issues (and his awesomeness) are not the topic at hand. :) A few years ago when we were cutting out sugar and artificial colors and flavors (to keep our kids from going crazy) I started looking at labels. I was amazed at how much of our foods had junk in it. One of the most confusing things to me was how pure vanilla extract could have sugar in it and still be called pure. Every single pure vanilla I came across had sugar or some derivative of it. Even Watkins! Then I came across a blog at Heavenlyhomemakers.com on how to make your own vanilla  and I thought I'd give it a shot because it looked so easy! And it definitely was as there are only 2 ingredients: vanilla beans and vodka. The only...

This weekend I was blessed to spend about 30 hours (not like I was counting) with my dear friend, Angie. Ang and I suffered through toughed out nursing school together and became fast friends our junior year. She always seems to know what I'm thinking, what I'm wishing and what I need. Cards and phone calls from her have pulled me through many tough times and she has been there to celebrate the wonder in my life. Our first children are 10 months apart and her last and my middle are 3 months apart. She's my beloved soul sister, or as Anne of Green Gables would say, we are kindred spirits. Enough mush and on to the good stuff... Saturday we met up and started our weekend away at the Mall of America. We shopped and shopped and shopped some more. No long lunch for us, mall food and we were off again! 6 hours and twice as many bags later we made our way to the hotel. (*just a side note, always buy your candles last on a marathon spree, they get heavy F.A.S.T) Upo...

Daylight Savings time has always been a challenge in our home. We have the most hard-wired early wakers known to man. If we put them to bed later, they wake up earlier. There is nothing that changes their sleep patterns. Along comes Fall Back. A delight to every teenager, college student or person without little ones. A miserably early morning (and mornings for weeks to come) for those of us with children, who work nights (and had to work the extra hour) or with animals that can't tell time. Tonight is one such night in which I'm ready to turn the clocks back ahead, say it's 6:30pm, and send them to bed incredibly early. Unfortunately I can't justify a 5:30pm bedtime, but I'm close. In just the last two minutes I've heard amidst all the screams and tears : Mom, Sam pulled my pants off! Mom, did you know that fart starts with F? Mom, Sam hiiiiiitttttttt meeeeeeeeeee....wahwahwahwahwah... Mom, Caleb's hitting my face (to which he responds...I ...

October is my favorite month of the year and once again, it flew by. Marked by gorgeous color-changing vegetation and perfect temps, we find ourselves outside every chance we get. This month also hosted our 11 year anniversary and my man's 32nd birthday. It turned BabyGirl's babbling into words and turned on the tantrums. The big boys enjoyed the dark evenings with flashlights and cozy coats exploring the backyard in the cool hours. I said goodbye to the lump that was causing some remaining suspicion and welcomed the good news that it was benign and the joy of  a really good nap or two during the recovery. Grandma Kerri's visit left some very happy kids. BigBoy #1 left night-time Pull-ups behind and with it, a happy mother who finally, after nearly 6 years, who is now only buying "diapers" for two. Happy November to you all and may all the glories of this Fall be easily retreived as the winter wonder (as in, I wonder how long it's going to last!...