After a busy and fun weekend, we're down to two days before we leave for Mexico. I'm really excited but the days right before a vacation are always a little stressful. Unfortunately, our house is a total disaster which means that's what will welcome us home from vacation. Also, we have tons of laundry to do in the next two days plus all the other little miscellaneous stuff that needs to get done. Our flight leaves at 6:30 am on Thursday, which means we need to be to the airport by 5:00am... ICK! I hope Eliot does ok with such an early morning and sleeps on the flight.
We also found out today, that our neighbors right across the street had their home broken into on Sunday during the day. IN BROAD DAYLIGHT. And they have a security system. So, needless to say, I'm nervous about leaving for a week. We have our security company coming on Wednesday to install some additional security measures, but I'll probably be a little on edge the whole time we're gone. I hate waiting for the other shoe to drop... Pray that our home is left alone. I don't really care about all the "stuff" but the feeling of being violated that goes along with a break-in would be very, very difficult for me. Also, if we had to file another insurance claim this year, our insurance company would probably drop us and that would not be fun...
Wow - I didn't mean for that to be such a depressing post...I was thinking it would be fun. Weird what comes out when you sit down and start writing. Thanks for the therapy session! Good night, all!
July 20, 2009
July 16, 2009
Crazy for Poppies
I'm currently working on some crafty projects and have a list of other ones that I want to start. Here's some poppy related items that inspired me today...
Poppy Baby Quilt (from Etsy):
I have had all the materials to make a quilt for our bedroom for almost a year and haven't gotten brave enough to start on it. I think I've wrangled my mom into helping me out and maybe by winter it'll be completed.
Poppy Painting (from Etsy):
Poppy & Mushroom Kitchen Towels (from Etsy):
Poppy Pin (from Etsy):
Can you tell I love Etsy?! :) Happy crafting!
Poppy Baby Quilt (from Etsy):
I have had all the materials to make a quilt for our bedroom for almost a year and haven't gotten brave enough to start on it. I think I've wrangled my mom into helping me out and maybe by winter it'll be completed.
Poppy Painting (from Etsy):
Poppy & Mushroom Kitchen Towels (from Etsy):
Poppy Pin (from Etsy):
Can you tell I love Etsy?! :) Happy crafting!
July 14, 2009
Let's play catch-up, yet again.
So I'm thinking that in order to be more accurate, I need to change our blog description to read: "We created this blog to document our family life on a quarterly basis" as opposed to our day to day family life... I don't know why I cannot find the time to update the blog. It's all about priorities, I guess. When you have a one year old, priorities change. That's my excuse today. So here's a quick update since we last checked in.
Mother's Day: It was great! Jason and Eliot surprised me with a massage at Spa Ivy which was *heavenly* and then we all had a fantastic picnic in the Walker Sculpture Garden and spent the afternoon chasing Eliot around and watching ducks. Eliot is OBSESSED with ducks and buses.
Father's Day: Our friends Jen and Tom and Paige came into town for the weekend and we spent Saturday at Rock the Garden, which was awesome. It was a gorgeous day and we got to see four bands - Solid Gold, Yeasayer, Calexico and The Decemberists. We were a bit worried about how the babies would do since we were there for over 8 hours, but they loved it. Paige took a catnap, Eliot ran around like a crazy man and they thoroughly enjoyed themselves. The music was fantastic and it was a perfect day all around. Then on Sunday, Tim and Erin and Lucy (Tom's twin and his wife and their daughter) came to town and we all had a very yummy five course champagne brunch at the Nicollet Island Inn. We lucked out with a private dining room so we could shut the doors and let all three toddlers toddle around. It would never have worked otherwise, as the brunch took over three hours! Afterward, we all went to the zoo for the afternoon. It was a quick but very fun weekend!
Over the July 4th holiday, we took a trip to Canada for my cousin's wedding. Since both sides of my family either live in town or were in town for the wedding, our weekend was absolutely jam packed! But it was so great to be able to see everyone again and the wedding was beautiful! Congrats Curtis & April!
This past weekend, Jason had his 15 year high school reunion on Friday night and a bachelor party (woot woot) on Saturday night. I couldn't bring myself to attend his reunion with him (I despise those types of events!) and so me and mom headed to Sioux Falls on Friday night and came back on Saturday night. We got to spend Saturday hanging out at the pool with Danny & Aymee, and Charlie and Berkley and Eliot. I got a sunburn so it was totally worth it! Jason had a good time catching up with his old classmates (he doesn't despise those types of events) and an equally good time at the bachelor party although he did leave early to come home and see me and Eliot on Saturday night. What a softie he is!
Today, we found out that two engineering firms were unable to conclusively determine the cause of our van fire, and as a result our insurance company is not able to pursue further legal action against Chrysler. Seems like we're just out of luck there... I'm guessing our premiums jump up quite a bit in the near future.
So in May I posted our To-Do List - well, I'm embarrassed to say that we've gotten virtually nothing done. We're just not very productive, are we?! We did renovate our lawn organically although it is a HUGE task to keep up with the weeding when you don't use any weed killer. We haven't been very consistent and I think the weeds are winning this battle. Argh! Our garden is planted and growing. We've enjoyed lettuce, raspberries, rhubarb and basil, so far. We have tomatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, squash, onions and cucumbers still growing. We were able to dig out our boulevards and plant native plants there - most of them are doing well although we do need to water quite often to keep them green. Hopefully they'll be more established next summer and need a little less water. And finally, none of our indoor house stuff is done. It irritates me just to write that sentence so that's all I'm going to say about that.
Next week, we are going to Playa Del Carmen, Mexico for a week of relaxation on the beach. We can hardly wait. I am eagerly looking forward to sand between my toes, floating in warm, salty water, drinking a cold margarita, eating fresh guacamole and fish tacos and ceviche, sweltering in 100 degrees, sleeping in (please Eliot?), laying in a hammock and everything else that is so wonderful and lovely about a vacation in Mexico!
And on August 13th, Jason and I will celebrate our 5th anniversary. We haven't made any plans yet so any ideas for how we should celebrate? What is the 5th anniversary anyway?
I'll try to post another update next week...seriously.
Peace & love!
Mother's Day: It was great! Jason and Eliot surprised me with a massage at Spa Ivy which was *heavenly* and then we all had a fantastic picnic in the Walker Sculpture Garden and spent the afternoon chasing Eliot around and watching ducks. Eliot is OBSESSED with ducks and buses.
Father's Day: Our friends Jen and Tom and Paige came into town for the weekend and we spent Saturday at Rock the Garden, which was awesome. It was a gorgeous day and we got to see four bands - Solid Gold, Yeasayer, Calexico and The Decemberists. We were a bit worried about how the babies would do since we were there for over 8 hours, but they loved it. Paige took a catnap, Eliot ran around like a crazy man and they thoroughly enjoyed themselves. The music was fantastic and it was a perfect day all around. Then on Sunday, Tim and Erin and Lucy (Tom's twin and his wife and their daughter) came to town and we all had a very yummy five course champagne brunch at the Nicollet Island Inn. We lucked out with a private dining room so we could shut the doors and let all three toddlers toddle around. It would never have worked otherwise, as the brunch took over three hours! Afterward, we all went to the zoo for the afternoon. It was a quick but very fun weekend!
Over the July 4th holiday, we took a trip to Canada for my cousin's wedding. Since both sides of my family either live in town or were in town for the wedding, our weekend was absolutely jam packed! But it was so great to be able to see everyone again and the wedding was beautiful! Congrats Curtis & April!
This past weekend, Jason had his 15 year high school reunion on Friday night and a bachelor party (woot woot) on Saturday night. I couldn't bring myself to attend his reunion with him (I despise those types of events!) and so me and mom headed to Sioux Falls on Friday night and came back on Saturday night. We got to spend Saturday hanging out at the pool with Danny & Aymee, and Charlie and Berkley and Eliot. I got a sunburn so it was totally worth it! Jason had a good time catching up with his old classmates (he doesn't despise those types of events) and an equally good time at the bachelor party although he did leave early to come home and see me and Eliot on Saturday night. What a softie he is!
Today, we found out that two engineering firms were unable to conclusively determine the cause of our van fire, and as a result our insurance company is not able to pursue further legal action against Chrysler. Seems like we're just out of luck there... I'm guessing our premiums jump up quite a bit in the near future.
So in May I posted our To-Do List - well, I'm embarrassed to say that we've gotten virtually nothing done. We're just not very productive, are we?! We did renovate our lawn organically although it is a HUGE task to keep up with the weeding when you don't use any weed killer. We haven't been very consistent and I think the weeds are winning this battle. Argh! Our garden is planted and growing. We've enjoyed lettuce, raspberries, rhubarb and basil, so far. We have tomatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, squash, onions and cucumbers still growing. We were able to dig out our boulevards and plant native plants there - most of them are doing well although we do need to water quite often to keep them green. Hopefully they'll be more established next summer and need a little less water. And finally, none of our indoor house stuff is done. It irritates me just to write that sentence so that's all I'm going to say about that.
Next week, we are going to Playa Del Carmen, Mexico for a week of relaxation on the beach. We can hardly wait. I am eagerly looking forward to sand between my toes, floating in warm, salty water, drinking a cold margarita, eating fresh guacamole and fish tacos and ceviche, sweltering in 100 degrees, sleeping in (please Eliot?), laying in a hammock and everything else that is so wonderful and lovely about a vacation in Mexico!
And on August 13th, Jason and I will celebrate our 5th anniversary. We haven't made any plans yet so any ideas for how we should celebrate? What is the 5th anniversary anyway?
I'll try to post another update next week...seriously.
Peace & love!
May 5, 2009
We have spring fever!
Spring is finally here! I am loving the warm, earthy smelling air, green grass and flowers sprouting, being able to have our windows open and Eliot's exclamations of "twees, twees" which means trees in case you don't understand one year old babble.
Spring also means that I have a huge to-do list (self-imposed) which is completely overwhelming to me tonight. Here's the list:
Let's end on a fun note. Here's Eliot's current vocabulary:
Spring also means that I have a huge to-do list (self-imposed) which is completely overwhelming to me tonight. Here's the list:
- Renovate our lawn organically which involves spreading corn gluten meal, core aerating, overseeding (which we know might not be very successful due to the cgm) and then watering and mowing.
- Get the garden ready and plant.
- Clean out the flower beds and plant.
- Organize our house (closets, junk drawers, office, etc.) We're pretty organized already so this won't be too much work, maybe a weekend?
- Paint our master bathroom and fix the tile or re-tile around the tub - we're undecided at this point, but something will be done.
- Paint Eliot's bathroom and install new bath fixtures.
- Clean our carpets. We bought a carpet cleaner and I have a recipe for natural cleaner. This is just a big pain in the butt, but it's much needed.
- Complete all the miscellaneous little to-do's that we have been neglecting around the house.
- Reorganize our garage - we have new bikes, bike trailer, strollers, etc. that all need a permanent home. Our garage is a DISASTER right now so this will probably be a big project.
- Clean our fish tank - we have to do this every month but I hate it so much that I'm including it on this list.
- Re-stain our front porch and deck.
- Clean our windows. Ick.
- Hang a whole bunch of pictures that have been sitting on our floor for six months.
- Move the furniture in our bedroom after removing the TV and the table on which it sits. We need to do this, but once we do, we'll probably have to start doing Eliot's nebulizer treatments in the living room so he can watch Baby Einstein while we do it. It is very helpful in keeping him still for 2o minutes.
- Finish our basement - it was done but then it flooded and we kind of had to start over. So now we need to finish it again.
Let's end on a fun note. Here's Eliot's current vocabulary:
- No way!
- Twee (tree)
- One
- Two
- Uh-oh
- Vacuum
- Ee-wee (meow)
- Ruf, Ruf (barking)
- No!
- Daddy
- Duck
- Bath
- Moo
- Na, na, na (nursies)
- Mama (although he uses this word rarely)
- Yeah (accompanied by head shaking)
- Nana (banana)
- Hi (this is his favorite and most frequent word, even though it's low on the list)
- Roar (he really roars) and Leo, which is the name of his lion
April 5, 2009
February & March...Yikes!
I read a couple of blogs pretty regularly and it drives me crazy when they don't update them... if you read my blog, I apologize for the lack of updates! I guess my excuse is that we've been busy? Here's what we've been up to...
On January 29th, Eliot turned one and we celebrated with my family (from out of town) by staying at a hotel with with a waterpark. The kids (and the adults) all had a lot of fun although, the waterpark was a bit colder than we would have liked for the babies. The next week, Eliot came down with a stomach flu and ended up staying home with Jason almost all week. We were going to have another birthday party for Eliot that weekend, but we ended up postponing it because of his illness.
On February 13th, we flew to Seattle to spend a week with our friends, Jen & Tom and Eliot's first crush, Paige (sorry Lila!). Like usual, we weren't ready to leave for our trip and we were packing up until the very last minute and came close to missing our plane. But no worries! Northwest never disappoints and we were delayed for over 3 hours, 2 of them while sitting on plane which was about 87 degrees. It was a little hairy at the end with Eliot as it was bedtime, but he fell asleep as soon as we took off.
We spent Saturday, Sunday and Monday in Seattle doing fun things like going to the aquarium and the Science Center which had a toddler play park (Eliot LOVED it and had a huge tantrum when it was time to go) and eating fish & chips along the waterfront by Pike Place Market. We couldn't have a vacation without a little drama, though. After our eventful trip to the waterfront, we got back to Jen & Tom's place and Eliot decided he wasn't quite done with the stomach flu. After a scary moment prompting a 911 call, he continued to projectile vomit about 4x an hour for eight hours or so. Not very fun at all! A day and a half later, Paige got sick, too. (We're sorry Paige!) But she was a trooper and recovered very quickly and we were able to leave for Whistler, BC as planned on Tuesday.
We spent the next three days in Whistler. Jason skied, me & Eliot got to ride to the top of Blackcomb Mountain and ride the very cool (and scary) Peak to Peak gondola to Whistler Mountain and back again. The next day Jason, Eliot & I spent the day snowshoeing in the mountains. It was so beautiful - we had a fantastic day! Oh yeah, I almost forgot... Eliot started walking while we were on vacation. And today, he runs around like crazy - he's hard to keep up with but it's good for us!
At the end of February, we finally had our second birthday party for Eliot - most of Jason's family and some of our friends came. Eliot had a great time and loved eating birthday cake for a second time. Lucky boy!
At the beginning of March, we traveled to Sioux Falls for Berkley's birthday party. It was frog themed party since Berkley looks so much like a tree-frog... all three boys had a great time playing together again. As they get older, they're definitely able to interact more. It's a lot of fun watching them.
The third week in March, Eliot came down with a bad cold and as the week progressed, he started coughing more and more and eventually wheezing. We took him to Urgent Care where they listened to his lungs and promptly sent us to Children's Hospital. They were very concerned about his breathing. After hours in the ER, he was diagnosed with RSV and bronchiolitis and we were sent home with a nebulizer. After a week at home with Jason and multiple neb treatments each day, he recovered nicely and is back to his normal self. We're hoping that is the last ER visit for awhile. I think we've had our fair share this year.
This week, Jason finished his cohort at Concordia. He has a couple of generals left to take and he'll officially be done with school. For now, he has a couple months off which will be a great break for our whole family.
Today, we went to the MN Zoo to see the Farm Babies - cows, pigs, horses, sheep, goats, chickens. We ended up seeing a lot more than the farm animals and Eliot LOVED it...we bought a season pass and it should make for a ton of fun this summer. He can make the "baaaa" noise of the sheep which is incredibly cute and hilarious all at the same time. I just need to note that it snowed here yesterday and it was only in the low 30's today... that is just incredibly wrong. This has felt like the longest winter in a very long time and I cannot wait for spring to finally arrive.
Have a good week everyone!
On January 29th, Eliot turned one and we celebrated with my family (from out of town) by staying at a hotel with with a waterpark. The kids (and the adults) all had a lot of fun although, the waterpark was a bit colder than we would have liked for the babies. The next week, Eliot came down with a stomach flu and ended up staying home with Jason almost all week. We were going to have another birthday party for Eliot that weekend, but we ended up postponing it because of his illness.
On February 13th, we flew to Seattle to spend a week with our friends, Jen & Tom and Eliot's first crush, Paige (sorry Lila!). Like usual, we weren't ready to leave for our trip and we were packing up until the very last minute and came close to missing our plane. But no worries! Northwest never disappoints and we were delayed for over 3 hours, 2 of them while sitting on plane which was about 87 degrees. It was a little hairy at the end with Eliot as it was bedtime, but he fell asleep as soon as we took off.
We spent Saturday, Sunday and Monday in Seattle doing fun things like going to the aquarium and the Science Center which had a toddler play park (Eliot LOVED it and had a huge tantrum when it was time to go) and eating fish & chips along the waterfront by Pike Place Market. We couldn't have a vacation without a little drama, though. After our eventful trip to the waterfront, we got back to Jen & Tom's place and Eliot decided he wasn't quite done with the stomach flu. After a scary moment prompting a 911 call, he continued to projectile vomit about 4x an hour for eight hours or so. Not very fun at all! A day and a half later, Paige got sick, too. (We're sorry Paige!) But she was a trooper and recovered very quickly and we were able to leave for Whistler, BC as planned on Tuesday.
We spent the next three days in Whistler. Jason skied, me & Eliot got to ride to the top of Blackcomb Mountain and ride the very cool (and scary) Peak to Peak gondola to Whistler Mountain and back again. The next day Jason, Eliot & I spent the day snowshoeing in the mountains. It was so beautiful - we had a fantastic day! Oh yeah, I almost forgot... Eliot started walking while we were on vacation. And today, he runs around like crazy - he's hard to keep up with but it's good for us!
At the end of February, we finally had our second birthday party for Eliot - most of Jason's family and some of our friends came. Eliot had a great time and loved eating birthday cake for a second time. Lucky boy!
At the beginning of March, we traveled to Sioux Falls for Berkley's birthday party. It was frog themed party since Berkley looks so much like a tree-frog... all three boys had a great time playing together again. As they get older, they're definitely able to interact more. It's a lot of fun watching them.
The third week in March, Eliot came down with a bad cold and as the week progressed, he started coughing more and more and eventually wheezing. We took him to Urgent Care where they listened to his lungs and promptly sent us to Children's Hospital. They were very concerned about his breathing. After hours in the ER, he was diagnosed with RSV and bronchiolitis and we were sent home with a nebulizer. After a week at home with Jason and multiple neb treatments each day, he recovered nicely and is back to his normal self. We're hoping that is the last ER visit for awhile. I think we've had our fair share this year.
This week, Jason finished his cohort at Concordia. He has a couple of generals left to take and he'll officially be done with school. For now, he has a couple months off which will be a great break for our whole family.
Today, we went to the MN Zoo to see the Farm Babies - cows, pigs, horses, sheep, goats, chickens. We ended up seeing a lot more than the farm animals and Eliot LOVED it...we bought a season pass and it should make for a ton of fun this summer. He can make the "baaaa" noise of the sheep which is incredibly cute and hilarious all at the same time. I just need to note that it snowed here yesterday and it was only in the low 30's today... that is just incredibly wrong. This has felt like the longest winter in a very long time and I cannot wait for spring to finally arrive.
Have a good week everyone!
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