Decide what to be and go be it.

Every single song on my play list spoke to me at the gym this morning (yes, even the Eminen song that never fails to push me from a tra-la-la steady, light jog into run for your life, there's a giant freaking bear behind you!  You have no idea how much I need that motivation every. single. time. And yes, I get it from a white rapper who uses profanity.  We take it where we can get it).  And so I pushed myself a little harder, ran a little further, and as I worked on my breathing (so, so hard for me to master) I let my mind trip over the words blasting in my ears.

This has been swimming in my brain ever since: Decide what to be and go be it.





I want to write more, but instead, over the weekend we cleaned the house.  Fall cleaning, if you will.  We moved furniture and dusted and swept in places that hadn't seen a broom or a rag for months.  Words bubbled up in my brain as I was making beds and emptying the dishwasher and folding laundry.  And before I could put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) I was consumed with a 3 year old and trains and cars and the library and dinner and baths and bedtimes and church and we fell down tired into our beds every night; the weekend gone before I'd done something I want to do.  Doesn't that sound selfish?

I want to write more, so in the midst of my cleaning frenzy over the weekend, I decided to carve out a space that would be conducive to writing - somewhere that I would feel creative and comfortable and inspired.  I've thought for a while now about bringing my computer out to the Artist's Cottage because I love that space, and as we were shoving and organizing in the house on Saturday morning, I told Abby we were moving my desk out to the cottage. It works because Finn can be in here with me and occupied (paints, play dough, car mat, dump trucks, puzzles) without me wondering how many not-so-secret cereal snacks he's going to sneak out of the kitchen (the boy is a bottomless pit already!).

I want to write more, and I've thought about writing the story of Uriah and me, something for our kids and our grandkids to have before we both lose our marbles and rock quietly next to each other in a rest home, our stories locked up inside our minds.  Of course, that story is entirely interwoven with Abby and how we got her and the court-house-shit-show that ensued for years (I'm eternally grateful to a youth spent reading Nancy Drew; I consider her my mentor), and I'm still trying to decide how that all works, because the story - while it is Abby's - is also integral to Uriah and me and the family we've fought for and struggled with and created.  But it will get started...that story, I mean.  Because it, too, is bubbling inside my head, looking for a way to get out.

I want to write more, so initiative taken.  Space created.

Decide what to be and go be it.

Every single song on my play list spoke to me at the gym this morning (yes, even the Eminen song that never fails to push me from a tra-la-la steady, light jog into run for your life, there's a giant freaking bear behind you!  You have no idea how much I need that motivation every. single. time. And yes, I get it from a white rapper who uses profanity.  We take it where we can get it).  And so I pushed myself a little harder, ran a little further, and as I worked on my breathing (so, so hard for me to master) I let my mind trip over the words blasting in my ears.

This has been swimming in my brain ever since: Decide what to be and go be it.





I want to write more, but instead, over the weekend we cleaned the house.  Fall cleaning, if you will.  We moved furniture and dusted and swept in places that hadn't seen a broom or a rag for months.  Words bubbled up in my brain as I was making beds and emptying the dishwasher and folding laundry.  And before I could put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) I was consumed with a 3 year old and trains and cars and the library and dinner and baths and bedtimes and church and we fell down tired into our beds every night; the weekend gone before I'd done something I want to do.  Doesn't that sound selfish?

I want to write more, so in the midst of my cleaning frenzy over the weekend, I decided to carve out a space that would be conducive to writing - somewhere that I would feel creative and comfortable and inspired.  I've thought for a while now about bringing my computer out to the Artist's Cottage because I love that space, and as we were shoving and organizing in the house on Saturday morning, I told Abby we were moving my desk out to the cottage. It works because Finn can be in here with me and occupied (paints, play dough, car mat, dump trucks, puzzles) without me wondering how many not-so-secret cereal snacks he's going to sneak out of the kitchen (the boy is a bottomless pit already!).

I want to write more, and I've thought about writing the story of Uriah and me, something for our kids and our grandkids to have before we both lose our marbles and rock quietly next to each other in a rest home, our stories locked up inside our minds.  Of course, that story is entirely interwoven with Abby and how we got her and the court-house-shit-show that ensued for years (I'm eternally grateful to a youth spent reading Nancy Drew; I consider her my mentor), and I'm still trying to decide how that all works, because the story - while it is Abby's - is also integral to Uriah and me and the family we've fought for and struggled with and created.  But it will get started...that story, I mean.  Because it, too, is bubbling inside my head, looking for a way to get out.

I want to write more, so initiative taken.  Space created.

Decide what to be and go be it.

Catching a mouse.

Yesterday Uriah's restaurant had a guest-chef event, which I couldn't attend because...you know, kids, and since my husband was working, no date.  Anyway, it turns out they needed some cheese for the dessert course of the meal, so it fell to me and my copious amounts of stay-at-home-mom free time to drive into Duluth to pick up some fancy Minnesota cheeses. 

I made Finn a pb&j, plugged the address into my phone and we were off on a rainy adventure.  We drove through a really, really, really nice neighborhood and up to a really, really, really nice grocery store (I texted Uriah - later, because I do not text and drive, mom - that he needs to make more money because I found our next neighborhood.  He did not find that amusing.).  I immediately felt out of place with my no-make-up/windblown hair and my son and his semi-wet pants from playing at the park earlier, his rain boots, and his sticky jelly fingers and cheeks.  But we pressed on...to the cheese mecca of Duluth.

Now, I like cheese. but I was overwhelmed; top that with the fact that this is for a meal being served by a James Beard Award Nominated chef (it's like the Oscars for Chef's.  It's a big deal.) and I had an anxiety attack right in the middle of the artisan cheese section.  My heart started beating really fast, my palms got sweaty, and Finn decided to use my distraction to his advantage and take off his sweatshirt, swing it around his head and sing The Itsy Bitsy Spider to all of the shoppers hovering over the fresh sushi case right behind us.  The cheese guy looked at me kind of crazy when I told him I needed 8 pounds of Minnesota cheese.  They didn't have a lot of Minnesota cheese options; Wisconsin, however, makes a crap-ton of cheese (I guess that's why they're called Cheese Heads?  Who knew...).  I probably called Uriah 3 or 4 times in my panicked state, trying to choose correctly.  He had a lot on his plate (which is why I was sent on this stupid errand in the first place) and really didn't care what I picked, but he tried to be helpful and keep the exasperation out of his voice when he said: "Just pick some, whatever you choose will be fine!"  Then the cheese guy showed me a cheddar cheese that was $80/pound and I knew I had to get away from him.  I made my frantic selections of Minnesota and Wisconsin cheeses, attempted to add the ounces and pounds up in my head (math is not my strongest subject) and prayed there would be enough.

I corralled my vocal son, who at this point had moved on to a rousing rendition of the Move It, Move It song from Madagascar (including some sweet dance moves) and we headed to pick up the last of the items on our list, which read (I kid you not): fancy tomato paste and Minnesota honey.

We finally made it to the check-out after avoiding a near-catastrophic melt-down in the soup aisle because there was a can of Cars soup with Mater on it that Finn felt he really needed to have.  We did not buy it.  I slung my basket on the counter, ready to be done with this chore from hell.

I was explaining to the check-out boy the reason for all the cheese when the sweet old man bagging my groceries told me that I should tell people I was trying to catch a mouse.  He then asked me - straight faced - to come back and tell him which cheese the mouse preferred.

$200 worth of cheese to catch a mouse.  I laughed all the way to the car.

From this morning.  I had all of my laundry sorted and ready to go when Finn decided to claim the clothes for himself.  He told me he was making islands for his boat.  

Yesterday Uriah's restaurant had a guest-chef event, which I couldn't attend because...you know, kids, and since my husband was working, no date.  Anyway, it turns out they needed some cheese for the dessert course of the meal, so it fell to me and my copious amounts of stay-at-home-mom free time to drive into Duluth to pick up some fancy Minnesota cheeses. 

I made Finn a pb&j, plugged the address into my phone and we were off on a rainy adventure.  We drove through a really, really, really nice neighborhood and up to a really, really, really nice grocery store (I texted Uriah - later, because I do not text and drive, mom - that he needs to make more money because I found our next neighborhood.  He did not find that amusing.).  I immediately felt out of place with my no-make-up/windblown hair and my son and his semi-wet pants from playing at the park earlier, his rain boots, and his sticky jelly fingers and cheeks.  But we pressed on...to the cheese mecca of Duluth.

Now, I like cheese. but I was overwhelmed; top that with the fact that this is for a meal being served by a James Beard Award Nominated chef (it's like the Oscars for Chef's.  It's a big deal.) and I had an anxiety attack right in the middle of the artisan cheese section.  My heart started beating really fast, my palms got sweaty, and Finn decided to use my distraction to his advantage and take off his sweatshirt, swing it around his head and sing The Itsy Bitsy Spider to all of the shoppers hovering over the fresh sushi case right behind us.  The cheese guy looked at me kind of crazy when I told him I needed 8 pounds of Minnesota cheese.  They didn't have a lot of Minnesota cheese options; Wisconsin, however, makes a crap-ton of cheese (I guess that's why they're called Cheese Heads?  Who knew...).  I probably called Uriah 3 or 4 times in my panicked state, trying to choose correctly.  He had a lot on his plate (which is why I was sent on this stupid errand in the first place) and really didn't care what I picked, but he tried to be helpful and keep the exasperation out of his voice when he said: "Just pick some, whatever you choose will be fine!"  Then the cheese guy showed me a cheddar cheese that was $80/pound and I knew I had to get away from him.  I made my frantic selections of Minnesota and Wisconsin cheeses, attempted to add the ounces and pounds up in my head (math is not my strongest subject) and prayed there would be enough.

I corralled my vocal son, who at this point had moved on to a rousing rendition of the Move It, Move It song from Madagascar (including some sweet dance moves) and we headed to pick up the last of the items on our list, which read (I kid you not): fancy tomato paste and Minnesota honey.

We finally made it to the check-out after avoiding a near-catastrophic melt-down in the soup aisle because there was a can of Cars soup with Mater on it that Finn felt he really needed to have.  We did not buy it.  I slung my basket on the counter, ready to be done with this chore from hell.

I was explaining to the check-out boy the reason for all the cheese when the sweet old man bagging my groceries told me that I should tell people I was trying to catch a mouse.  He then asked me - straight faced - to come back and tell him which cheese the mouse preferred.

$200 worth of cheese to catch a mouse.  I laughed all the way to the car.

From this morning.  I had all of my laundry sorted and ready to go when Finn decided to claim the clothes for himself.  He told me he was making islands for his boat.  

On my mind today:

 I wish I had more for you...

But the truth is, this elongated winter that we are experiencing is truly taking a toll on my motivation, my cheery words and my ability to get things done in a timely manner.  Add to that the fact that I spent the past 6 weeks working temporarily in my hometown (well, 5 weeks really, there was a week break in there for a spring break trip to Kansas City) and this "spring that wasn't" has been exhausting.

So, to catch you (and me) up, here is where it's at - list style (my favorite):

• Abby had a school dance, wherein she asked a boy to go with her.  It was big news in this house.
• My mom bought her a dress and she wore heels (which she said were very uncomfortable, but that didn't stop her from wearing them).
• I think it's safe to say she had a really good time.
• I worked half a week for 5 weeks, 4 hours from home.
• Finn and I bunked in with my parents - which was awesome.  
• We left Uriah and Abby behind - which was not so awesome.
• Abby had a list each week before I left of chores to accomplish, Uriah's work schedule, dinner menu, etc.  She did an awesome job of staying on top of what she had to get done.
• She was so excited for me to leave - I think she had glamorous ideas of what it was going to mean for her (making dinner, taking care of the house, being a bit independent - the girl reads a lot and I think she imagined something much bigger than it turned out to be).
• It didn't take long for her to start wishing for me to be back home to stay.  I guess it's nice to know I'm needed and useful, even if it is just to make dinner and empty the dishwasher nightly.
• Finn went to daycare - and loved it (most days).  Some days he required a little extra nudge up the driveway.
• I had anxiety attacks for a week (or maybe more) about how he would do listening to someone else and would he miss me and would he play nice and share and would he be okay in a house with a dog (he did not like dogs - they made him uncomfortable, now he's pretty much a fan).  I should have known he'd be fine.
• The first day he could hardly wait to leave me.  The second day took some convincing.  The third day he cried.  And then he got used to the schedule.  A little clingy some mornings, couldn't get away from me fast enough others.  
• Grandma and Grandpa took turns picking him up in the afternoon.
• I am so grateful to have had them to help out with pick-ups and I know that they really loved the special one-on-one time they had with Finn before I got home.
• I also love living at home - my sheets smelled like my childhood.  I could totally be that girl who lives at home forever.

• Our trip to Kansas City fell at about the halfway point of my temporary job.
• It was a nice break and we'd been looking forward to it all winter.
• It snowed while we were in Kansas City and it did not feel like spring break at all.  I did not wear my flip-flops once.
• We learned that this is a trip that cannot be done in one shot (10 hours is too long for any of us to be in the car).  We stayed overnight half-way both going down and coming back up.  We will always do that.
• I made the small humans goody bags for the trip - little treats/things to do to break up the time spent in the car.  It was a decent first attempt; our next trip will have some changes.  Uriah was seriously sad I didn't make him one.
• The kids got some extra cousin-play time with all of their cousins.  
• I got some extra snuggle time with the baby.  So did Uriah...he held that baby more than I did!  
• The grandparents got to spoil the kids.
• Uriah and I got to have a morning to sneak back to our old neighborhood.
• Due to the snow, my plans to hit up the Kansas City Zoo were waylaid (maybe a trip this summer is in order, although I'm quite sure it would be just me and the two small humans).
• We went to Cabela's on our way through southern Minnesota instead, because it's like the zoo, except all of the animals are dead and stuffed and never, ever move.  Finn loved it.
• I finished out my working stint last week and was sad to leave it, just as I really seemed to be getting into my groove and balancing work and life.
• I am happy to not have the 4 hour commute twice a week, though.  My car is happy about that, too.
• I've been waiting for spring and in the meantime eschewing all forms of spring cleaning (well, I did do one closet yesterday and put away most of the winter stuff.  And then it snowed 3 inches last night.  Can't a girl get a break?!).
• I am anxious to get back into a really good walking routine.  I will even walk through puddles if I have to (and I can assure you, with the plethora of snow we have, melting will take some time and I will have to walk through puddles).
• Luckily Mother's Day usually means a new pair of shoes for me.  After some soggy, soggy walks, I will need them in a month or so.
• The weather forecast is for 60s next week...given the spring we've had, though, I will have to see it to believe it!

 I wish I had more for you...

But the truth is, this elongated winter that we are experiencing is truly taking a toll on my motivation, my cheery words and my ability to get things done in a timely manner.  Add to that the fact that I spent the past 6 weeks working temporarily in my hometown (well, 5 weeks really, there was a week break in there for a spring break trip to Kansas City) and this "spring that wasn't" has been exhausting.

So, to catch you (and me) up, here is where it's at - list style (my favorite):

• Abby had a school dance, wherein she asked a boy to go with her.  It was big news in this house.
• My mom bought her a dress and she wore heels (which she said were very uncomfortable, but that didn't stop her from wearing them).
• I think it's safe to say she had a really good time.
• I worked half a week for 5 weeks, 4 hours from home.
• Finn and I bunked in with my parents - which was awesome.  
• We left Uriah and Abby behind - which was not so awesome.
• Abby had a list each week before I left of chores to accomplish, Uriah's work schedule, dinner menu, etc.  She did an awesome job of staying on top of what she had to get done.
• She was so excited for me to leave - I think she had glamorous ideas of what it was going to mean for her (making dinner, taking care of the house, being a bit independent - the girl reads a lot and I think she imagined something much bigger than it turned out to be).
• It didn't take long for her to start wishing for me to be back home to stay.  I guess it's nice to know I'm needed and useful, even if it is just to make dinner and empty the dishwasher nightly.
• Finn went to daycare - and loved it (most days).  Some days he required a little extra nudge up the driveway.
• I had anxiety attacks for a week (or maybe more) about how he would do listening to someone else and would he miss me and would he play nice and share and would he be okay in a house with a dog (he did not like dogs - they made him uncomfortable, now he's pretty much a fan).  I should have known he'd be fine.
• The first day he could hardly wait to leave me.  The second day took some convincing.  The third day he cried.  And then he got used to the schedule.  A little clingy some mornings, couldn't get away from me fast enough others.  
• Grandma and Grandpa took turns picking him up in the afternoon.
• I am so grateful to have had them to help out with pick-ups and I know that they really loved the special one-on-one time they had with Finn before I got home.
• I also love living at home - my sheets smelled like my childhood.  I could totally be that girl who lives at home forever.

• Our trip to Kansas City fell at about the halfway point of my temporary job.
• It was a nice break and we'd been looking forward to it all winter.
• It snowed while we were in Kansas City and it did not feel like spring break at all.  I did not wear my flip-flops once.
• We learned that this is a trip that cannot be done in one shot (10 hours is too long for any of us to be in the car).  We stayed overnight half-way both going down and coming back up.  We will always do that.
• I made the small humans goody bags for the trip - little treats/things to do to break up the time spent in the car.  It was a decent first attempt; our next trip will have some changes.  Uriah was seriously sad I didn't make him one.
• The kids got some extra cousin-play time with all of their cousins.  
• I got some extra snuggle time with the baby.  So did Uriah...he held that baby more than I did!  
• The grandparents got to spoil the kids.
• Uriah and I got to have a morning to sneak back to our old neighborhood.
• Due to the snow, my plans to hit up the Kansas City Zoo were waylaid (maybe a trip this summer is in order, although I'm quite sure it would be just me and the two small humans).
• We went to Cabela's on our way through southern Minnesota instead, because it's like the zoo, except all of the animals are dead and stuffed and never, ever move.  Finn loved it.
• I finished out my working stint last week and was sad to leave it, just as I really seemed to be getting into my groove and balancing work and life.
• I am happy to not have the 4 hour commute twice a week, though.  My car is happy about that, too.
• I've been waiting for spring and in the meantime eschewing all forms of spring cleaning (well, I did do one closet yesterday and put away most of the winter stuff.  And then it snowed 3 inches last night.  Can't a girl get a break?!).
• I am anxious to get back into a really good walking routine.  I will even walk through puddles if I have to (and I can assure you, with the plethora of snow we have, melting will take some time and I will have to walk through puddles).
• Luckily Mother's Day usually means a new pair of shoes for me.  After some soggy, soggy walks, I will need them in a month or so.
• The weather forecast is for 60s next week...given the spring we've had, though, I will have to see it to believe it!

Virtual Motivation (guest post)

I'm guest-posting this week over at 100 Miles in 3 Months about virtual motivation...and visual motivation.  Check it out here!

I'm guest-posting this week over at 100 Miles in 3 Months about virtual motivation...and visual motivation.  Check it out here!

Home is wherever I'm with you.

We zig-zagged through the city.  Down I-70, circumventing downtown, and we slipped into our old neighborhood.  We drove through the blocks that defined us early on and my eyes darted this way and that, taking in the little memories that each road offered up.

How many times did we drive out of the city on Friday afternoon, childless, only to return on Friday night with a back seat full of exuberant Abby?  Our ears ringing, our little apartment exploding with Polly's and ponies and Barbies.  How many weekends were spent criss-crossing the state for a drop-off or a pick-up.  How many miles we covered, hashing out the details of family court, of our future, confirming and assuring that we were making the right choice.  The only choice.  And how many of those long Missouri miles did we drive in silence, holding hands and wishing.

We neared the road to Abby's school; how nervous she was that first day of fourth grade...how nervous we all were as we jumped feet-first into uniforms and after-school care and PTA.  And all those times that she forgot her backpack in our apartment.  And the time I made her go the entire day without it because I wasn't about to turn around down our one-way street again for her to retrieve it.  Her anger was tangible, but the lesson was learned.  And that school sat quietly across a parking lot from the church where we promised to be with each other forever.  Forever is a long time, but that day they were promises easily given.  Promises we'd give again, although maybe now they wouldn't be as easy, knowing what we do.

Every other Friday evening we'd drop Abby off for Girl Scouts at the Baptist Church a neighborhood away and hope that in the span of two hours she'd come away an empowered girl, while we slipped into a neighborhood watering hole to wait.

If I close my eyes, I can walk down the hall of our apartment.  The huge bedroom that we foolishly thought we could squeeze a baby and all his accouterments into.  Our tiny bathroom, half the size of the outdoor patio that drew us in the first place, with the square smaller-than-a-tub-but-larger-than-a-shower stall.  Our tiny kitchen and the carpeted dining room and Megan coming over a couple of times a week to eat with us, because for a brief and glorious time, we were neighbors.  And Abby starting our tradition of beginning a meal with each of us saying one thing we're thankful for.  We still do that.  And the time we took our dining table apart so that we could put it on our patio and eat al fresco on a humid Missouri evening, with the sounds of Plaza traffic and cicadas serenading us as we ate and our containers full of flowers and herbs and plants nearly blocking anyone on the street from seeing us.

I remember where I was laying on the floor in the front room when Uriah came home with family court news, and then  throwing the paperwork across the living room and wishing there was more space because that small apartment was not big enough to hold my anger.  I remember sitting on our couch on a spring afternoon, after spending the day washing away the winter from our windows; I gave Uriah two dates for a wedding - or the option to back out.  We started planning in the warm sunshine how to make official what we'd known for years: we were meant to be together.  And I remember standing in front of Abby's closet as he proposed to me for real, with a ring that didn't come from a candy machine.  And I demanded he get down on one knee and do it proper.  And I was so happy.

As we drove through Kansas City proper, with every road we turned down and each glimpse of the sky line, a memory shot up and I found myself nostalgic and a little sad.  We won't ever have that life again - city life with one kid who only came every other weekend.  The carefree ability to have cheese and crackers and wine for dinner and then walk down to the Plaza and take our time browsing though Pottery Barn and Barnes & Noble without having to maneuver a stroller or find the nearest bathroom; those days are long gone.  But I like where our life is now.  I like walking, instead, to the library and stopping at the park to take our time climbing the ladders and sliding and swinging.  I like that our skyline is the shore of Lake Superior.

There will always be a piece of my heart that belongs to Kansas City.  It's where our story started; where we got married and had a baby and planted the seeds that would become our life, even if that life has been uprooted and replanted a time or two.  So much of our early life is squished into the corners and streets and buildings, but it is a memory town now.

I will be grateful for all the roads that twisted and turned to get us to this spot.

We zig-zagged through the city.  Down I-70, circumventing downtown, and we slipped into our old neighborhood.  We drove through the blocks that defined us early on and my eyes darted this way and that, taking in the little memories that each road offered up.

How many times did we drive out of the city on Friday afternoon, childless, only to return on Friday night with a back seat full of exuberant Abby?  Our ears ringing, our little apartment exploding with Polly's and ponies and Barbies.  How many weekends were spent criss-crossing the state for a drop-off or a pick-up.  How many miles we covered, hashing out the details of family court, of our future, confirming and assuring that we were making the right choice.  The only choice.  And how many of those long Missouri miles did we drive in silence, holding hands and wishing.

We neared the road to Abby's school; how nervous she was that first day of fourth grade...how nervous we all were as we jumped feet-first into uniforms and after-school care and PTA.  And all those times that she forgot her backpack in our apartment.  And the time I made her go the entire day without it because I wasn't about to turn around down our one-way street again for her to retrieve it.  Her anger was tangible, but the lesson was learned.  And that school sat quietly across a parking lot from the church where we promised to be with each other forever.  Forever is a long time, but that day they were promises easily given.  Promises we'd give again, although maybe now they wouldn't be as easy, knowing what we do.

Every other Friday evening we'd drop Abby off for Girl Scouts at the Baptist Church a neighborhood away and hope that in the span of two hours she'd come away an empowered girl, while we slipped into a neighborhood watering hole to wait.

If I close my eyes, I can walk down the hall of our apartment.  The huge bedroom that we foolishly thought we could squeeze a baby and all his accouterments into.  Our tiny bathroom, half the size of the outdoor patio that drew us in the first place, with the square smaller-than-a-tub-but-larger-than-a-shower stall.  Our tiny kitchen and the carpeted dining room and Megan coming over a couple of times a week to eat with us, because for a brief and glorious time, we were neighbors.  And Abby starting our tradition of beginning a meal with each of us saying one thing we're thankful for.  We still do that.  And the time we took our dining table apart so that we could put it on our patio and eat al fresco on a humid Missouri evening, with the sounds of Plaza traffic and cicadas serenading us as we ate and our containers full of flowers and herbs and plants nearly blocking anyone on the street from seeing us.

I remember where I was laying on the floor in the front room when Uriah came home with family court news, and then  throwing the paperwork across the living room and wishing there was more space because that small apartment was not big enough to hold my anger.  I remember sitting on our couch on a spring afternoon, after spending the day washing away the winter from our windows; I gave Uriah two dates for a wedding - or the option to back out.  We started planning in the warm sunshine how to make official what we'd known for years: we were meant to be together.  And I remember standing in front of Abby's closet as he proposed to me for real, with a ring that didn't come from a candy machine.  And I demanded he get down on one knee and do it proper.  And I was so happy.

As we drove through Kansas City proper, with every road we turned down and each glimpse of the sky line, a memory shot up and I found myself nostalgic and a little sad.  We won't ever have that life again - city life with one kid who only came every other weekend.  The carefree ability to have cheese and crackers and wine for dinner and then walk down to the Plaza and take our time browsing though Pottery Barn and Barnes & Noble without having to maneuver a stroller or find the nearest bathroom; those days are long gone.  But I like where our life is now.  I like walking, instead, to the library and stopping at the park to take our time climbing the ladders and sliding and swinging.  I like that our skyline is the shore of Lake Superior.

There will always be a piece of my heart that belongs to Kansas City.  It's where our story started; where we got married and had a baby and planted the seeds that would become our life, even if that life has been uprooted and replanted a time or two.  So much of our early life is squished into the corners and streets and buildings, but it is a memory town now.

I will be grateful for all the roads that twisted and turned to get us to this spot.

Winter Blues

Finn and I took a walk this morning.  The temperature said 25 degrees, but the wind was brutal.  Next time I will wear an extra shirt and bring a blanket for Finn in the stroller.  We didn't go far and I am, in fact, still trying to warm up.  I think a cup of tea is in my very near future (even though I'd love a cup of coffee; I'd also love to go to sleep tonight).

We are supposed to go to Iowa tomorrow, Finn and I, but the weather is being a spiteful hooker, and if it snows and blows like it's supposed to, we may be stuck here, missing out on all of the fun.  We have great plans to hang out in a hotel and play with Cousin Dane and watch Uncle Dan graduate from taxidermy school and look at all kinds of cool, stuffed critters, and maybe even stop at Ikea on our way home.  What is meant to be will be, and I don't drive in inclement weather (read: snow, rain, strong winds - basically anything that is not sunny and dry and safe!) but I am hopeful that we can make our trip as planned.

We are counting down the days to spring break...well, Finn is counting down the days.  He has zero concept of time and keeps asking me if it is next year yet, which, I guess in Finn time means later.  Anyway, he kept asking me if it was time to go to Mimi's house (Uriah's mom) and I finally had to tell him when we'd taken off all of the chains, then it would be time to go to Mimi's.  I probably shouldn't have told him we were going to the zoo or that we get to see absolutely all of our cousins (both hound and human).  He's pretty excited.  I'm pretty much sick of saying, not today fifteen zillion times an hour and then having him ask, "Please, Mama?  Please can we go to Mimi's house today?" in his very sweet little voice.  Next time we take a trip I am not telling him about until the day we leave.

Finn and I took a walk this morning.  The temperature said 25 degrees, but the wind was brutal.  Next time I will wear an extra shirt and bring a blanket for Finn in the stroller.  We didn't go far and I am, in fact, still trying to warm up.  I think a cup of tea is in my very near future (even though I'd love a cup of coffee; I'd also love to go to sleep tonight).

We are supposed to go to Iowa tomorrow, Finn and I, but the weather is being a spiteful hooker, and if it snows and blows like it's supposed to, we may be stuck here, missing out on all of the fun.  We have great plans to hang out in a hotel and play with Cousin Dane and watch Uncle Dan graduate from taxidermy school and look at all kinds of cool, stuffed critters, and maybe even stop at Ikea on our way home.  What is meant to be will be, and I don't drive in inclement weather (read: snow, rain, strong winds - basically anything that is not sunny and dry and safe!) but I am hopeful that we can make our trip as planned.

We are counting down the days to spring break...well, Finn is counting down the days.  He has zero concept of time and keeps asking me if it is next year yet, which, I guess in Finn time means later.  Anyway, he kept asking me if it was time to go to Mimi's house (Uriah's mom) and I finally had to tell him when we'd taken off all of the chains, then it would be time to go to Mimi's.  I probably shouldn't have told him we were going to the zoo or that we get to see absolutely all of our cousins (both hound and human).  He's pretty excited.  I'm pretty much sick of saying, not today fifteen zillion times an hour and then having him ask, "Please, Mama?  Please can we go to Mimi's house today?" in his very sweet little voice.  Next time we take a trip I am not telling him about until the day we leave.

Mighty Big Love

I have been loving these 14 Days of Valentine's.  All right, mostly, I've been loving them.  I tried to make them as simple as I could (sometimes I have mighty big ideas) and I tried to be as prepared as I could.  I'm sometimes a really huge a procrastinator (as evidenced by every single college paper I ever had to write).

I let Abby loose in the kitchen on Sunday afternoon in an attempt to practice giving up some control (me) and for some baking practice (Abby).  She made chocolate cupcakes and then I made pink and purple frosting for her and Finn to decorate their cupcakes with (Yes, I made the frosting.  I said I was practicing giving up some control).  It kept them busy during our 8 plus inches of snow storm.  Okay, so Finn ate more frosting than he actually used on his cupcakes and they both went a little overboard with the sprinkles, and Abby was right there with him, surreptitiously eating spoonfuls of frosting when she thought I wasn't looking.  And I wasn't looking because I was eating spoonfuls of frosting when they weren't looking.  It was good frosting.

Finn and I (mostly me) made Valentine's for his once-a-week preschool class.  Damn Pinterest for giving me holiday celebration ideas that my inner Martha Stewart feels an overwhelming need to act on (see every Elf on the Shelf idea that I had and 14 Day's of Valentine's for two years as evidence).  Let's all be thankful I decided to forego the 40 Days of Lent Countdown, since that really isn't so much of a celebration and actually would probably be considered a tad sacrilegious by some of the more devout.  I'll save my spring thing for Easter instead, since that actually is something to celebrate (complete with dyed Easter eggs, and this year, chocolate filled eggs made with real shells.  Because I want to, that's why.).

Happy Valentine's Eve (not a real holiday to celebrate, but I don't care!).

I have been loving these 14 Days of Valentine's.  All right, mostly, I've been loving them.  I tried to make them as simple as I could (sometimes I have mighty big ideas) and I tried to be as prepared as I could.  I'm sometimes a really huge a procrastinator (as evidenced by every single college paper I ever had to write).

I let Abby loose in the kitchen on Sunday afternoon in an attempt to practice giving up some control (me) and for some baking practice (Abby).  She made chocolate cupcakes and then I made pink and purple frosting for her and Finn to decorate their cupcakes with (Yes, I made the frosting.  I said I was practicing giving up some control).  It kept them busy during our 8 plus inches of snow storm.  Okay, so Finn ate more frosting than he actually used on his cupcakes and they both went a little overboard with the sprinkles, and Abby was right there with him, surreptitiously eating spoonfuls of frosting when she thought I wasn't looking.  And I wasn't looking because I was eating spoonfuls of frosting when they weren't looking.  It was good frosting.

Finn and I (mostly me) made Valentine's for his once-a-week preschool class.  Damn Pinterest for giving me holiday celebration ideas that my inner Martha Stewart feels an overwhelming need to act on (see every Elf on the Shelf idea that I had and 14 Day's of Valentine's for two years as evidence).  Let's all be thankful I decided to forego the 40 Days of Lent Countdown, since that really isn't so much of a celebration and actually would probably be considered a tad sacrilegious by some of the more devout.  I'll save my spring thing for Easter instead, since that actually is something to celebrate (complete with dyed Easter eggs, and this year, chocolate filled eggs made with real shells.  Because I want to, that's why.).

Happy Valentine's Eve (not a real holiday to celebrate, but I don't care!).

Let's play catch up via Instagram, shall we?

This is what it looks like here:

Lots of snow.  Lots of cold.  Very, very cold.  Lots of grey.

Lots of clouds.  Lots of wind. Lots of shoveling. Lots of cold.

I love Minnesota.

Because of the lots of cold and lots of snow, 

we've been able to do this a few times:

Uriah got me a hiking back pack for Christmas to lug Finn around in.

I love it.  We only slipped once.  No one was injured.

As soon as it get's a little warmer - you know, 15 degrees sounds reasonable these days,

I told him we'd hike at Gooseberry and look at the frozen waterfalls.

We had our first successful outing yesterday in big boy undies,

and a semi-successful outing this morning.

We're getting there.  My confidence is growing.

My purse is growing, too.

It feels like a small suitcase with the change of pants, undies, and socks added to it.

I made a mini-cake over the weekend - two little 6-inch rounds.

Chocolate Chip Cake with Butterscotch Filling.

It satisfied my need to be creative and the small human's my sweet tooth.

Plus, such a tiny cake means very little in the way of leftovers.

To balance the cake, we eat lots of fruit.

It's keeping us all regular.

Finn has been requesting the yellow cup for his milk.

He looks like a little British tea drinker.

If only I could teach him to hold out his little finger.

I used to have this pink blanket on my couch so that I could snuggle up at night 

when it really gets cold in this old, radiator-heated house.  

Now it's in the back seat of my car so that Finn can snuggle up 

whenever we are forced to leave our old, radiator-heated house.

I don't mess around with frostbite and hypothermia warnings.

Evidently, when the temperature hits -24 degrees without the wind chill, pipes freeze.

Found that out this week.  Good times.  Good lessons.

A brief interlude of wishing we were back in Kansas City 

while I was sloshing around in cold, water-soggy socks

and trouble shooting with Uriah on the phone.

Finn took that moment to relieve himself.  In his pants.  In the worst way.

It was nothing a nap (for Finn) and a bath (for me) couldn't fix.

Except that we have a porcelain bath tub that never really stays warm. 

And an unheated bathroom.

Imagine that.

This is what it looks like here:

Lots of snow.  Lots of cold.  Very, very cold.  Lots of grey.

Lots of clouds.  Lots of wind. Lots of shoveling. Lots of cold.

I love Minnesota.

Because of the lots of cold and lots of snow, 

we've been able to do this a few times:

Uriah got me a hiking back pack for Christmas to lug Finn around in.

I love it.  We only slipped once.  No one was injured.

As soon as it get's a little warmer - you know, 15 degrees sounds reasonable these days,

I told him we'd hike at Gooseberry and look at the frozen waterfalls.

We had our first successful outing yesterday in big boy undies,

and a semi-successful outing this morning.

We're getting there.  My confidence is growing.

My purse is growing, too.

It feels like a small suitcase with the change of pants, undies, and socks added to it.

I made a mini-cake over the weekend - two little 6-inch rounds.

Chocolate Chip Cake with Butterscotch Filling.

It satisfied my need to be creative and the small human's my sweet tooth.

Plus, such a tiny cake means very little in the way of leftovers.

To balance the cake, we eat lots of fruit.

It's keeping us all regular.

Finn has been requesting the yellow cup for his milk.

He looks like a little British tea drinker.

If only I could teach him to hold out his little finger.

I used to have this pink blanket on my couch so that I could snuggle up at night 

when it really gets cold in this old, radiator-heated house.  

Now it's in the back seat of my car so that Finn can snuggle up 

whenever we are forced to leave our old, radiator-heated house.

I don't mess around with frostbite and hypothermia warnings.

Evidently, when the temperature hits -24 degrees without the wind chill, pipes freeze.

Found that out this week.  Good times.  Good lessons.

A brief interlude of wishing we were back in Kansas City 

while I was sloshing around in cold, water-soggy socks

and trouble shooting with Uriah on the phone.

Finn took that moment to relieve himself.  In his pants.  In the worst way.

It was nothing a nap (for Finn) and a bath (for me) couldn't fix.

Except that we have a porcelain bath tub that never really stays warm. 

And an unheated bathroom.

Imagine that.

On my mind today...the weight of things.

• I feel like my days have been loaded with thoughts of food and weight and body-analysis.
• What can I eat? What shouldn't I eat?  What do I want to eat?
• Is it warm enough to go outside?
• Should I do yoga on the Wii? Obviously, but I don't really want to.
• My yoga pants are obviously not for yoga.
• Is this how I want to spend the rest of my life? Constantly thinking about food?
• Is the alternative somehow better? Not thinking about food, but then, not really being comfortable in my own skin?
• Who has time for this over-analyzing?  Obviously, I do.
• One step forward, 9 steps back.
• Get out and hike a bit with 30 extra pounds of wiggling, giggling Finn strapped to my back.
• Slip and fall (but don't get hurt).  Enjoy the view.  And then stuck in the house because sub-zero temperatures and wind make going outside a suicide mission.
• When do I get to feel comfortable?  10 pounds?  25?  When I hit my 40 lb goal?
• And when I get there, then what?  It's probably best not to worry about that right now.
• Let's just focus on getting there.
• Focus on getting off of this plateau that I'm perched on and can't seem to jump down from.
• One step forward, 9 steps back.
• Should I dare to cut back on the carbs again?  
• I hate cutting things out - denying myself.  I lack will-power. 
• Maybe I'll focus on telling myself I don't want something rather than I can't have it. 
• Mind games.  Weight loss is a mind game if ever I saw one.
• Baby steps to the elevator.  
• Maybe those 9 steps back will be baby steps and the one step forward can be a giant step.
• Thank you for listening, I'm going back to my menu planning now.

• I feel like my days have been loaded with thoughts of food and weight and body-analysis.
• What can I eat? What shouldn't I eat?  What do I want to eat?
• Is it warm enough to go outside?
• Should I do yoga on the Wii? Obviously, but I don't really want to.
• My yoga pants are obviously not for yoga.
• Is this how I want to spend the rest of my life? Constantly thinking about food?
• Is the alternative somehow better? Not thinking about food, but then, not really being comfortable in my own skin?
• Who has time for this over-analyzing?  Obviously, I do.
• One step forward, 9 steps back.
• Get out and hike a bit with 30 extra pounds of wiggling, giggling Finn strapped to my back.
• Slip and fall (but don't get hurt).  Enjoy the view.  And then stuck in the house because sub-zero temperatures and wind make going outside a suicide mission.
• When do I get to feel comfortable?  10 pounds?  25?  When I hit my 40 lb goal?
• And when I get there, then what?  It's probably best not to worry about that right now.
• Let's just focus on getting there.
• Focus on getting off of this plateau that I'm perched on and can't seem to jump down from.
• One step forward, 9 steps back.
• Should I dare to cut back on the carbs again?  
• I hate cutting things out - denying myself.  I lack will-power. 
• Maybe I'll focus on telling myself I don't want something rather than I can't have it. 
• Mind games.  Weight loss is a mind game if ever I saw one.
• Baby steps to the elevator.  
• Maybe those 9 steps back will be baby steps and the one step forward can be a giant step.
• Thank you for listening, I'm going back to my menu planning now.

Getting my crap together.

Today is day 3 of making a valiant effort to feel better on the outside and day 410 of trying to feel better on the inside.

I showered this morning - after I worked out (Uriah really had to kick my butt into gear this morning because it was damn cold outside, but as usual, I am so glad he did).  I curled my hair and I applied some make-up.  I am wearing jeans today, but I dressed it up with a shirt and a sweater that cannot be classified as a cardigan.  I did not put on any perfume, but I did apply deodorant, so I think that counts.

Yesterday I wore a skirt.  I don't know if it was the purply-flowyness every time I moved or the apron I put on to make play dough and never took off, but sometime after lunch I was possessed to clean Abby's room (13 year olds are such slovenly humans.). I kept expecting the cast and crew of hoarders to show up at my house at any moment. The girl throws nothing away.  Old magazines that she's torn pictures out of? Found them. Ripped up pieces of construction paper? Found those, too. I found socks and hair bands and a zillion bobby pins.  Don't get me started on what was underneath her bed.  And also, clothes that no longer fit (although her dad has the same penchant for hanging onto things he wore in high school, so at least I know where she gets it from.).  I cleaned and de-cluttered and set a standard of cleanliness that will, hopefully, slowly leach into other corners of our house (hello, closet by the door that has random junk shoved in it from when we moved.  You are next.).

All in all, this getting dressed in real clothes and putting on make-up and doing my hair is making me a domestic goddess.  Who would have thought?

As for feeling good on the insides, that is a slow damn process.  I wish weight came off as quickly and as easily as it goes on, but I am fueling that process with more fruits and veggies.  It started when I was visiting my sister after my prince of a nephew was born.  They had a huge bowl of cut-up oranges and grapefruits in their refrigerator (quick fuel for a new mom, why didn't I think of that?) and they pulled it out with just about every meal.  Last week I was visiting with one of my MomFriends during a much-needed play-date and she was talking about how they were visiting family over the holidays and her girls snacked on a huge veggie tray that was out - they'd just grab a piece as they ran by.  It finally clicked in my head: what an awesome way to get more fruits and veggies into the small humans with little effort!

So last week I got a cantaloupe and a watermelon from the store.  I cut them up and put the chunks in a huge bowl.  Between Finn, Abby and I we polished that fruit off in 2 days!  I couldn't believe it.  Finn and I made a trip to the grocery store earlier this week and he helped me pick out a bunch of fruit - we picked out oranges and apples and pears, Finn requested cantaloupe again, and we got grapes, blackberries and bananas   We cut it all up (I let Finn use a butter knife to "help" me), tossed it with some honey, lemon and lime juice and I pull it out for every meal and let them take as much fruit as they want.  They take a lot.

It has been a huge success, plus it's a quick go-to snack for me or when my sweet tooth is singing loud and clear.  I'm going to need to get more fruit tomorrow.  Abby has requested strawberries this time, and I really don't even care about the price of fruit in this off-season (Strawberries?  Watermelon?  In January?!) because I know it's not going to waste and it's healthy.

Next week I'm going to give some cut-up veggies and fat-free dill dip a try and see if we have similar snacking success.

Today is day 3 of making a valiant effort to feel better on the outside and day 410 of trying to feel better on the inside.

I showered this morning - after I worked out (Uriah really had to kick my butt into gear this morning because it was damn cold outside, but as usual, I am so glad he did).  I curled my hair and I applied some make-up.  I am wearing jeans today, but I dressed it up with a shirt and a sweater that cannot be classified as a cardigan.  I did not put on any perfume, but I did apply deodorant, so I think that counts.

Yesterday I wore a skirt.  I don't know if it was the purply-flowyness every time I moved or the apron I put on to make play dough and never took off, but sometime after lunch I was possessed to clean Abby's room (13 year olds are such slovenly humans.). I kept expecting the cast and crew of hoarders to show up at my house at any moment. The girl throws nothing away.  Old magazines that she's torn pictures out of? Found them. Ripped up pieces of construction paper? Found those, too. I found socks and hair bands and a zillion bobby pins.  Don't get me started on what was underneath her bed.  And also, clothes that no longer fit (although her dad has the same penchant for hanging onto things he wore in high school, so at least I know where she gets it from.).  I cleaned and de-cluttered and set a standard of cleanliness that will, hopefully, slowly leach into other corners of our house (hello, closet by the door that has random junk shoved in it from when we moved.  You are next.).

All in all, this getting dressed in real clothes and putting on make-up and doing my hair is making me a domestic goddess.  Who would have thought?

As for feeling good on the insides, that is a slow damn process.  I wish weight came off as quickly and as easily as it goes on, but I am fueling that process with more fruits and veggies.  It started when I was visiting my sister after my prince of a nephew was born.  They had a huge bowl of cut-up oranges and grapefruits in their refrigerator (quick fuel for a new mom, why didn't I think of that?) and they pulled it out with just about every meal.  Last week I was visiting with one of my MomFriends during a much-needed play-date and she was talking about how they were visiting family over the holidays and her girls snacked on a huge veggie tray that was out - they'd just grab a piece as they ran by.  It finally clicked in my head: what an awesome way to get more fruits and veggies into the small humans with little effort!

So last week I got a cantaloupe and a watermelon from the store.  I cut them up and put the chunks in a huge bowl.  Between Finn, Abby and I we polished that fruit off in 2 days!  I couldn't believe it.  Finn and I made a trip to the grocery store earlier this week and he helped me pick out a bunch of fruit - we picked out oranges and apples and pears, Finn requested cantaloupe again, and we got grapes, blackberries and bananas   We cut it all up (I let Finn use a butter knife to "help" me), tossed it with some honey, lemon and lime juice and I pull it out for every meal and let them take as much fruit as they want.  They take a lot.

It has been a huge success, plus it's a quick go-to snack for me or when my sweet tooth is singing loud and clear.  I'm going to need to get more fruit tomorrow.  Abby has requested strawberries this time, and I really don't even care about the price of fruit in this off-season (Strawberries?  Watermelon?  In January?!) because I know it's not going to waste and it's healthy.

Next week I'm going to give some cut-up veggies and fat-free dill dip a try and see if we have similar snacking success.

All Elf-ed Up. {Elf on the Shelf: Days 1-12}

1. Reginald VanWinkle arrives with a letter from Santa and delicious (cheap, waxy) donuts.  He must be on a North Pole budget.  Finn kept telling me (read: yelling) that he was just looking!
2. RVW changes the milk in the refrigerator red and green.  I could not handle having an entire gallon of milk turned red or green, so they each got their own little cup and straw.  Abby couldn't find him all morning and was allegedly getting very annoyed.  We learned that red and green milk does, in fact, make tongues red and green.
3. Reginald inspects the Christmas stockings to ensure they will be fully functioning for Christmas morning goodies. 
4. Reginald lets all of the animals out of the barn.  He did give the sheep some snuggles, though.  Finn immediately relocated RVW back to the little Christmas tree so that he could play with the farm.  I didn't get on his case for touching the elf because he moved him and then didn't touch him again.
5. Reginald brings the Merry Madigascar movie - and proceeds to watch it with Gloria, Melman, and Alex (no zebras to be found in our house.).  We have now watched this movie 100,000 times.  Finn has taken to wishing people a Merry Julianuary.
6. Reginald fishes for goldfish crackers.  With an ice fishing pole and a very real hook.  I do not recommend using dangerous things with your elf, but we told Finn to look with his eyes, not with his fingers and nobody was impaled with a sharp hook.
7. Reginald makes an obstacle course out of aforementioned delicious, cheap donuts.  He borrowed Barbie's seldom-used motor scooter for his antics.
8. Reginald brings breakfast to be eaten out of new snowman cereal bowls.  He hung around all day and watched the initial Christmas cookie dough making.
9. Reginald makes a race track out of masking tape for Finn's cars.  I think that this was my favorite morning...Finn came downstairs looking for Reginald and he kept exclaiming  "He's playing cars with me, Mama!  He's playing cars with me!"  Also, I don't know why we didn't think to make him a race track with tape before.  He played with it for days (until we had to peel it up to wash the floor!).
10. Reginald hung out in the "B" of the Happy Birthday banner on Abby's birthday morning.  Again, Abby couldn't find him in the morning and told me she happened to glance up while she was eating her breakfast and there he was, staring at her.  She was kind of creeped out.
11. Reginald makes a snow angle in the flour.  It is not easy to get flour off of the felt suit the Reggie resides in.  As an added bonus, Finn loves to run his cars through the flour and make tracks, so the angel didn't last long and there was flour all over my kitchen.
12. Reginald brings some new Christmas books and reads with all of Finn's best friends.  The fun part was putting Finn to bed with Bear, Kitty-Kitty, Grover, and Nigel and then sneaking in there to untangle them from Finn's little arms and sneak them downstairs for story-time!  He was so excited that morning that all his friends were together reading about Santa!

1. Reginald VanWinkle arrives with a letter from Santa and delicious (cheap, waxy) donuts.  He must be on a North Pole budget.  Finn kept telling me (read: yelling) that he was just looking!
2. RVW changes the milk in the refrigerator red and green.  I could not handle having an entire gallon of milk turned red or green, so they each got their own little cup and straw.  Abby couldn't find him all morning and was allegedly getting very annoyed.  We learned that red and green milk does, in fact, make tongues red and green.
3. Reginald inspects the Christmas stockings to ensure they will be fully functioning for Christmas morning goodies. 
4. Reginald lets all of the animals out of the barn.  He did give the sheep some snuggles, though.  Finn immediately relocated RVW back to the little Christmas tree so that he could play with the farm.  I didn't get on his case for touching the elf because he moved him and then didn't touch him again.
5. Reginald brings the Merry Madigascar movie - and proceeds to watch it with Gloria, Melman, and Alex (no zebras to be found in our house.).  We have now watched this movie 100,000 times.  Finn has taken to wishing people a Merry Julianuary.
6. Reginald fishes for goldfish crackers.  With an ice fishing pole and a very real hook.  I do not recommend using dangerous things with your elf, but we told Finn to look with his eyes, not with his fingers and nobody was impaled with a sharp hook.
7. Reginald makes an obstacle course out of aforementioned delicious, cheap donuts.  He borrowed Barbie's seldom-used motor scooter for his antics.
8. Reginald brings breakfast to be eaten out of new snowman cereal bowls.  He hung around all day and watched the initial Christmas cookie dough making.
9. Reginald makes a race track out of masking tape for Finn's cars.  I think that this was my favorite morning...Finn came downstairs looking for Reginald and he kept exclaiming  "He's playing cars with me, Mama!  He's playing cars with me!"  Also, I don't know why we didn't think to make him a race track with tape before.  He played with it for days (until we had to peel it up to wash the floor!).
10. Reginald hung out in the "B" of the Happy Birthday banner on Abby's birthday morning.  Again, Abby couldn't find him in the morning and told me she happened to glance up while she was eating her breakfast and there he was, staring at her.  She was kind of creeped out.
11. Reginald makes a snow angle in the flour.  It is not easy to get flour off of the felt suit the Reggie resides in.  As an added bonus, Finn loves to run his cars through the flour and make tracks, so the angel didn't last long and there was flour all over my kitchen.
12. Reginald brings some new Christmas books and reads with all of Finn's best friends.  The fun part was putting Finn to bed with Bear, Kitty-Kitty, Grover, and Nigel and then sneaking in there to untangle them from Finn's little arms and sneak them downstairs for story-time!  He was so excited that morning that all his friends were together reading about Santa!

Reginald VanWinkle: Resident Elf {Elf on the Shelf}

 We are all elfed up in this house.

True story: Uriah wanted to name our elf Babe Winkleman and Abby admitted that she would have named him Buddy (as in: Buddy the Elf, what's your favorite color Will Farrell fame?!).  Finn's choice when I asked him?  Thunderbolt.  Of all of them, Finn's name had the most potential, but I have a firm grip on reality and, obviously, control of this house, so we named him Reginald VanWinkle.  I call him RVDub.  The kids call him Reggie.

Reginald VanWinkle arrived Saturday morning on a small Christmas tree with a bag of the cheapest, most delicous powder sugar donuts and a letter from Santa explaining his duties.  I did a quick world wide interweb search for the best Santa letterhead and some ideas for the letter from Santa.  Turns out I didn't have to look very far because one of my friends is doing this with her girls, too, so I borrowed her letter - it was perfect for what I was looking for, a little bit of Christmas magic, a little bit of Jesus; I only had to tweak it a bit (when I added to the original letter it was 2 pages long; who would have thought I could be so wordy?  It needed to be narrowed down a bit and I edited it down to 1 page!).  So in addition to talking about Jesus being the biggest and best gift and reminding the small humans to be kind to each other and helping others, the letter also gave some of the Rules of the Elf.  For example, RVW watches all day long for good and bad behavior and reports directly to Santa every night and  you can't touch the elf or he loses his magic.  Finn kept yelling at me, "I'm not touching him, Mama!  I'm just talking to him!"  The elf moves every night and in the morning the small humans have to find where he is.  Some days he'll be doing mischievous things, like drinking our pancake syrup or hanging socks and undies on the Christmas tree.  Some days he's just in a new observation spot.

Yesterday morning, for example, he showed up in our refrigerator, having turned a glass of milk red and one green for Abby and Finn.  Abby claimed to have looked all over the house in the morning before giving up and going to the refrigerator to get the milk out for some cereal - and finding RVDub in the process.  Finn, of course, was pretty much told where to look, but he laughed when he opened the refrigerator to find Reggie just hanging out and chose to drink the green milk, leaving the red for Abby.  (Sidebar: Cursive handwriting is so hard!)

It's been well established that I like to be organized (and also I like to not have to think about where I'm going to move Reginald VanWinkle each night) so I made up an itinerary of where he's going to be each morning.  At least once a week he has a gift for the small humans, mittens or a new Christmas CD, but mostly he just does fun things.

I am looking forward to Reginald VanWinkle's Christmas season in our house.  I'll try to post some more pictures on the blog as we work through his itinerary, and I'll probably be posting  more of his super fun capers on Instagram (Do you do Instagram?  I love it.  It's my go-to for pictures these days because it's so easy and fun!) or if we're friends on Facebook, you'll probably see some pictures there, too.

Happy Monday, friends!  Finn and I are still stuck in the house again today trying to get rid of his hacking cough so that we can be healthy enough to head south when the new baby comes.  In the process, we are busy making this house merry and bright!

 We are all elfed up in this house.

True story: Uriah wanted to name our elf Babe Winkleman and Abby admitted that she would have named him Buddy (as in: Buddy the Elf, what's your favorite color Will Farrell fame?!).  Finn's choice when I asked him?  Thunderbolt.  Of all of them, Finn's name had the most potential, but I have a firm grip on reality and, obviously, control of this house, so we named him Reginald VanWinkle.  I call him RVDub.  The kids call him Reggie.

Reginald VanWinkle arrived Saturday morning on a small Christmas tree with a bag of the cheapest, most delicous powder sugar donuts and a letter from Santa explaining his duties.  I did a quick world wide interweb search for the best Santa letterhead and some ideas for the letter from Santa.  Turns out I didn't have to look very far because one of my friends is doing this with her girls, too, so I borrowed her letter - it was perfect for what I was looking for, a little bit of Christmas magic, a little bit of Jesus; I only had to tweak it a bit (when I added to the original letter it was 2 pages long; who would have thought I could be so wordy?  It needed to be narrowed down a bit and I edited it down to 1 page!).  So in addition to talking about Jesus being the biggest and best gift and reminding the small humans to be kind to each other and helping others, the letter also gave some of the Rules of the Elf.  For example, RVW watches all day long for good and bad behavior and reports directly to Santa every night and  you can't touch the elf or he loses his magic.  Finn kept yelling at me, "I'm not touching him, Mama!  I'm just talking to him!"  The elf moves every night and in the morning the small humans have to find where he is.  Some days he'll be doing mischievous things, like drinking our pancake syrup or hanging socks and undies on the Christmas tree.  Some days he's just in a new observation spot.

Yesterday morning, for example, he showed up in our refrigerator, having turned a glass of milk red and one green for Abby and Finn.  Abby claimed to have looked all over the house in the morning before giving up and going to the refrigerator to get the milk out for some cereal - and finding RVDub in the process.  Finn, of course, was pretty much told where to look, but he laughed when he opened the refrigerator to find Reggie just hanging out and chose to drink the green milk, leaving the red for Abby.  (Sidebar: Cursive handwriting is so hard!)

It's been well established that I like to be organized (and also I like to not have to think about where I'm going to move Reginald VanWinkle each night) so I made up an itinerary of where he's going to be each morning.  At least once a week he has a gift for the small humans, mittens or a new Christmas CD, but mostly he just does fun things.

I am looking forward to Reginald VanWinkle's Christmas season in our house.  I'll try to post some more pictures on the blog as we work through his itinerary, and I'll probably be posting  more of his super fun capers on Instagram (Do you do Instagram?  I love it.  It's my go-to for pictures these days because it's so easy and fun!) or if we're friends on Facebook, you'll probably see some pictures there, too.

Happy Monday, friends!  Finn and I are still stuck in the house again today trying to get rid of his hacking cough so that we can be healthy enough to head south when the new baby comes.  In the process, we are busy making this house merry and bright!

24 Days of Christmas Books

{ Titles are listed below. }

Last year I saw on Pinterest (of course) the idea to have 24 Christmas books to count down to Christmas.  The idea is that the books are wrapped under the tree and each night the small humans can open one book and we'll read that book for bedtime.  

Our Christmas books only come out at Christmas time, so at most, we read them once a year (some of the more favored books get read two or three times in the Christmas season.).  I have quite a stock-pile of Christmas books, some the kids have received as gifts, some I have collected over the years, and some came from my mom's Christmas book collection.  Last year I headed over to Barnes and Noble for their day after Christmas sale to supplement my supply for this year.  I stock-piled a few books at a deeply discounted price, which was awesome (because I'm cheap and I'm pretty sure our Library would frown upon me wrapping up their books and leaving them under my tree for the month of December.).  I did not buy 24 new books, although I easily could have, but I tucked the special new books away in our Christmas totes and proceeded not to think about them until I started digging around downstairs for some decorations last week.  And then I remembered my plan for this year!

Below is our list of books in no particular order:

1. Froggy's Best Christmas - Jonathan London
2. The Christmas Magic - Lauren Thompson
3. Huckleberry Hound and the Christmas Sleigh - Little Golden Book
4. Little Golden Book: Christmas Favorites
5. The Biggest, Most Beautiful Christmas Tree - Little Golden Book
6. The Last Straw - Fredrick H. Thury
7. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer - Little Golden Book
8. Santa's Toy Shop - Little Golden Book
9. Jingle Bells - Little Golden Book
10. The Night Before Christmas - Jan Brett
11. The Littlest Elf - Brandi Dougherty
12. There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed A Bell - Lucille Colandro
13. How the Grinch Stole Christmas - Dr. Seuss
14. Mooseltoe - Margie Palatini
15. Christmas Trolls - Jan Brett
16. The Wild Christmas Reindeer - Jan Brett
17. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (movie version)
18. Olivia Helps with Christmas - Ian Falconer
19. A Cars Christmas
20. Bialosky's Christmas - Leslie McGuire
21. Bear Stays Up for Christmas - Karma Wilson
22. Room for a Little One - Martin Waddell
23. A Very Mater Christmas
24. The Christmas Baby - Marion Dane Bauer***

The kids always get a book in their Christmas stocking, so December 25th will find a new book for each of them.  This is clearly geared more towards Finneaus, but Abby likes to listen to bedtime stories occasionally,  too.  I have very fond memories of being read to as a child and later of reading the American Girl series to Abby when she was just a small girl.  My favorite time of the day these days is a snuggle and a book with Finn (and it happens often, not just at bedtime!).

There is something about being read to; I think reading out loud is my love language.  

Tomorrow our Elf on the Shelf pal, Reginald VanWinkle, will make his grand debut in the Hefter home, so I will share my calendar of Reginald VanWinkle's events and a few pictures of what I have planned for this season.  Hoping for a Christmas tree hunt this weekend and maybe some snow time outside on the trails if Finn is feeling better...enjoy your weekend!

***This is my most favorite book this holiday season; I can't read it without tearing up.  I will neither confirm nor deny that I cried in the middle of Barnes and Noble reading this.  Obviously with a new small human on the way in a few short weeks (not mine!) it is perfect for our family, so I sent it to my sister.  I believe that she cried, too, but she's pregnant, so her tears are expected.  If you happen to be at B&N, go to their children's section, pull it off the shelf, find a relatively private corner and proceed to have plenty of kleenex handy while you read.  Or maybe it's just me and I'm too emotional when it comes to babies, in which case, ignore the kleenex advice.

{ Titles are listed below. }

Last year I saw on Pinterest (of course) the idea to have 24 Christmas books to count down to Christmas.  The idea is that the books are wrapped under the tree and each night the small humans can open one book and we'll read that book for bedtime.  

Our Christmas books only come out at Christmas time, so at most, we read them once a year (some of the more favored books get read two or three times in the Christmas season.).  I have quite a stock-pile of Christmas books, some the kids have received as gifts, some I have collected over the years, and some came from my mom's Christmas book collection.  Last year I headed over to Barnes and Noble for their day after Christmas sale to supplement my supply for this year.  I stock-piled a few books at a deeply discounted price, which was awesome (because I'm cheap and I'm pretty sure our Library would frown upon me wrapping up their books and leaving them under my tree for the month of December.).  I did not buy 24 new books, although I easily could have, but I tucked the special new books away in our Christmas totes and proceeded not to think about them until I started digging around downstairs for some decorations last week.  And then I remembered my plan for this year!

Below is our list of books in no particular order:

1. Froggy's Best Christmas - Jonathan London
2. The Christmas Magic - Lauren Thompson
3. Huckleberry Hound and the Christmas Sleigh - Little Golden Book
4. Little Golden Book: Christmas Favorites
5. The Biggest, Most Beautiful Christmas Tree - Little Golden Book
6. The Last Straw - Fredrick H. Thury
7. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer - Little Golden Book
8. Santa's Toy Shop - Little Golden Book
9. Jingle Bells - Little Golden Book
10. The Night Before Christmas - Jan Brett
11. The Littlest Elf - Brandi Dougherty
12. There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed A Bell - Lucille Colandro
13. How the Grinch Stole Christmas - Dr. Seuss
14. Mooseltoe - Margie Palatini
15. Christmas Trolls - Jan Brett
16. The Wild Christmas Reindeer - Jan Brett
17. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (movie version)
18. Olivia Helps with Christmas - Ian Falconer
19. A Cars Christmas
20. Bialosky's Christmas - Leslie McGuire
21. Bear Stays Up for Christmas - Karma Wilson
22. Room for a Little One - Martin Waddell
23. A Very Mater Christmas
24. The Christmas Baby - Marion Dane Bauer***

The kids always get a book in their Christmas stocking, so December 25th will find a new book for each of them.  This is clearly geared more towards Finneaus, but Abby likes to listen to bedtime stories occasionally,  too.  I have very fond memories of being read to as a child and later of reading the American Girl series to Abby when she was just a small girl.  My favorite time of the day these days is a snuggle and a book with Finn (and it happens often, not just at bedtime!).

There is something about being read to; I think reading out loud is my love language.  

Tomorrow our Elf on the Shelf pal, Reginald VanWinkle, will make his grand debut in the Hefter home, so I will share my calendar of Reginald VanWinkle's events and a few pictures of what I have planned for this season.  Hoping for a Christmas tree hunt this weekend and maybe some snow time outside on the trails if Finn is feeling better...enjoy your weekend!

***This is my most favorite book this holiday season; I can't read it without tearing up.  I will neither confirm nor deny that I cried in the middle of Barnes and Noble reading this.  Obviously with a new small human on the way in a few short weeks (not mine!) it is perfect for our family, so I sent it to my sister.  I believe that she cried, too, but she's pregnant, so her tears are expected.  If you happen to be at B&N, go to their children's section, pull it off the shelf, find a relatively private corner and proceed to have plenty of kleenex handy while you read.  Or maybe it's just me and I'm too emotional when it comes to babies, in which case, ignore the kleenex advice.

After Thanksgiving Turkey Turnovers

I look forward to After Thanksgiving Turkey Turnovers every year.  I love these.  Love, love, love them.  Especially since Uriah makes gravy to go with them - and he is the gravy king.  You could easily use some sort of packet, mix in water and go, brown gravy mix for these.  They would be just as good.  And if you have some leftover stuffing, add a little of that to the turkey and condensed soup mixture (does it get any more Minnesotan than adding cream of mushroom soup to something?).

I would have served these with leftover cranberries, but we didn't have any of those left by the time I got around to making turnovers this week.  Really, I'm lucky I was able to make any turkey turnovers this year since there wasn't much left in the way of leftovers.  They are not the best dinner option WW points-wise, coming in at about a whopping 15 per turnover (not counting the gravy!  But I tend not to count gravy as points or calories; it should be viewed as angel nectar and therefore free of all things bad for you.). In their defense, these turnovers are sort of large and they are very filling and if you pair it with a dinner salad, you've got a pretty decent meal (I usually save my biggest points meal for dinner, so this works for me.).  If I were to eat this for lunch (which I did.  Yesterday.  Minus the gravy.  Go ahead and judge - once a year, people!), I would only eat half of it and still pair it with a big salad to bulk up my meal, which would easily be a satisfying mid-day meal

And also...am I the only one who's getting a tad bored with turkey for every meal?  It's time to add some fish to my menu.  And Christmas cookies!

Turkey Turnovers
Makes about 5-6 turnovers

• 1 lb ground turkey (or 1 1/2 cups leftover turkey, cubed)
• 10 oz. cream of mushroom soup
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup shortening
• 1/4 cup ice water
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 tablespoon water

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Cook ground turkey if that's what you're using or chop up leftover turkey.  Combine cooked turkey, cream of mushroom soup, water, and Worcestershire sauce.  Set aside.

To make the pastry, combine flour and salt.  Cut in shortening and add ice water slowly just until combined.  Gather pastry dough together into a disk, cover with plastic wrap and allow to chill in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes, or quick chill in the freezer for 10-15 minutes.  

Roll out pastry dough and cut into 5 -  6" squares (mine might have been a tad bigger than 6").  Put about 1/4 cup of filling into each square, making sure to get a little bit of the turkey into the corners of the pastry, and fold pastry to form a triangle.  Seal edges with a fork.  Place on a cookie sheet.  Beat egg yolk and water lightly with a fork and brush over the tops of triangles.  Prick tops of pastry several times with a fork.

Bake for 15-25 minutes or until brown on top.

Make your favorite gravy and serve over the top of the turnovers. 

I look forward to After Thanksgiving Turkey Turnovers every year.  I love these.  Love, love, love them.  Especially since Uriah makes gravy to go with them - and he is the gravy king.  You could easily use some sort of packet, mix in water and go, brown gravy mix for these.  They would be just as good.  And if you have some leftover stuffing, add a little of that to the turkey and condensed soup mixture (does it get any more Minnesotan than adding cream of mushroom soup to something?).

I would have served these with leftover cranberries, but we didn't have any of those left by the time I got around to making turnovers this week.  Really, I'm lucky I was able to make any turkey turnovers this year since there wasn't much left in the way of leftovers.  They are not the best dinner option WW points-wise, coming in at about a whopping 15 per turnover (not counting the gravy!  But I tend not to count gravy as points or calories; it should be viewed as angel nectar and therefore free of all things bad for you.). In their defense, these turnovers are sort of large and they are very filling and if you pair it with a dinner salad, you've got a pretty decent meal (I usually save my biggest points meal for dinner, so this works for me.).  If I were to eat this for lunch (which I did.  Yesterday.  Minus the gravy.  Go ahead and judge - once a year, people!), I would only eat half of it and still pair it with a big salad to bulk up my meal, which would easily be a satisfying mid-day meal

And also...am I the only one who's getting a tad bored with turkey for every meal?  It's time to add some fish to my menu.  And Christmas cookies!

Turkey Turnovers
Makes about 5-6 turnovers

• 1 lb ground turkey (or 1 1/2 cups leftover turkey, cubed)
• 10 oz. cream of mushroom soup
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup shortening
• 1/4 cup ice water
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 tablespoon water

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Cook ground turkey if that's what you're using or chop up leftover turkey.  Combine cooked turkey, cream of mushroom soup, water, and Worcestershire sauce.  Set aside.

To make the pastry, combine flour and salt.  Cut in shortening and add ice water slowly just until combined.  Gather pastry dough together into a disk, cover with plastic wrap and allow to chill in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes, or quick chill in the freezer for 10-15 minutes.  

Roll out pastry dough and cut into 5 -  6" squares (mine might have been a tad bigger than 6").  Put about 1/4 cup of filling into each square, making sure to get a little bit of the turkey into the corners of the pastry, and fold pastry to form a triangle.  Seal edges with a fork.  Place on a cookie sheet.  Beat egg yolk and water lightly with a fork and brush over the tops of triangles.  Prick tops of pastry several times with a fork.

Bake for 15-25 minutes or until brown on top.

Make your favorite gravy and serve over the top of the turnovers. 

I will be grateful for this day.

A Very Turducken Thanksgiving

The small humans and I enjoyed a very quite, uneventful, travel-less Thanksgiving Day. Uriah was out the door long before Abby made a morning appearance, but Finn and I were awake shortly after he left (such is the case when you have a creaky old house.).  We had breakfast and plotted and planned our day.  The sun peeked out early and the weather was somewhat warm, so after watching a bit of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade on tv, Finn headed outside to play.  What I love most about this house is that he can play in the back yard and I can be in the kitchen and because of all of the windows, I can track his moves.  I also had the door open for awhile to let some of the fresh fall air in.

I had already spent most of the week preparing for Friday's festivities, and since I plan everything with lists and time tables, I was pretty well prepared on Thursday for what was to come on Friday. Uriah had de-boned the birds Wednesday night, I had casseroles prepared, bread dough proofing for dinner rolls, sweet potato sticky buns ready to go in the oven Friday morning so really, the only thing I had left to do Thursday was to make a pumpkin pie - I chose to veer away from the norm and made an Amaretto Pumpkin Pie with Almond Praline. I'm somewhat of a pie crust failure, although I've studied diligently at the knee of my mother; she is the queen of a light, flaky crust. Mine tend to be over-rolled and a bit gummy, so I took my time with it. I walked away a few times to play outside with Finn and it took me most of the morning to finish it off and bake it.

I surprised the small humans with build your own pizzas and the movie Brave Thursday night. And as we settled in to enjoy our dinner picnic-style in the living room with our movie, the first flakes began to fall.  It didn't take long for the back yard to be covered and the words to Winter Wonderland began to filter through my head. Unfortunately, my parents drive took them about an hour extra due to the crap roads, but they made it. Finn and I had just gone outside on a snowy adventure when they pulled into the driveway (read: Finn was dying to go outside into the snow and I could see that the sidewalk needed some serious shoveling done, hence the "adventure.").

Our family and friends arrived on Friday afternoon for the feast.  There was lots of snacking, lots of puppy dog kisses, a few baby melt-downs, and some family pictures taken in the snow.  There was a long drawn-out game of Monopoly between the tween crowd, Abby fell down the stairs - and remained unharmed, and Ginny the dog tried her hardest to make friends with Finn (he was having none of her adorableness and chose instead to be held.  By me.  A lot.).  Two 6-foot long tables surrounded by 14 chairs held the masses of food and people for dinner.  We all said what we were thankful for, which takes a minute when you have 9 adults, 3 tweens, and 2 toddlers.  I was - and still am - thankful for every person who happens to find themselves around my table at any time of the year, for plenty of food to eat, and for safe travels.

We pretty much ate everything; there was not much for leftovers, which is a good thing for my refrigerator (and my waist), but not so much when I really wanted a snack of mashed potatoes and gravy on Friday night (there were no potatoes leftover to snack on.  Or gravy.  I probably would have eaten the gravy with a spoon and no potatoes.).  For as much work as I though the turducken would be, it seemed to be no more time-consuming than doing a traditional turkey (which we've done in a brine before, and also takes preparing a few days in advance.).  I wanted to take more pictures but I don't even know what I was doing  - setting the table, probably, or holding Finn - and I turned around and it was in the oven, roasted and done.  It was pretty tasty and I would not be opposed to doing it again.

We did have leftovers of the turducken beast and let me assure you, it does make some mighty tasty turkey/duck/chicken/stuffing turnovers a few days later.  And my pastry crust was flaky.  And Uriah even made gravy for them.  I might still be dreaming of Turducken Turnovers.

I think I want to have Thanksgiving at my house every year for the next forever.  Whether our families will oblige remains to be seen.  But I love Thanksgiving and so I will cook for whomever wants to come to my house and eat at my table.

And also, I really (selfishly) loved not having to travel, because this is what a few hours difference will make:

Thursday at 11:49 am (L) | Thursday at 8:40 pm (R)

The small humans and I enjoyed a very quite, uneventful, travel-less Thanksgiving Day. Uriah was out the door long before Abby made a morning appearance, but Finn and I were awake shortly after he left (such is the case when you have a creaky old house.).  We had breakfast and plotted and planned our day.  The sun peeked out early and the weather was somewhat warm, so after watching a bit of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade on tv, Finn headed outside to play.  What I love most about this house is that he can play in the back yard and I can be in the kitchen and because of all of the windows, I can track his moves.  I also had the door open for awhile to let some of the fresh fall air in.

I had already spent most of the week preparing for Friday's festivities, and since I plan everything with lists and time tables, I was pretty well prepared on Thursday for what was to come on Friday. Uriah had de-boned the birds Wednesday night, I had casseroles prepared, bread dough proofing for dinner rolls, sweet potato sticky buns ready to go in the oven Friday morning so really, the only thing I had left to do Thursday was to make a pumpkin pie - I chose to veer away from the norm and made an Amaretto Pumpkin Pie with Almond Praline. I'm somewhat of a pie crust failure, although I've studied diligently at the knee of my mother; she is the queen of a light, flaky crust. Mine tend to be over-rolled and a bit gummy, so I took my time with it. I walked away a few times to play outside with Finn and it took me most of the morning to finish it off and bake it.

I surprised the small humans with build your own pizzas and the movie Brave Thursday night. And as we settled in to enjoy our dinner picnic-style in the living room with our movie, the first flakes began to fall.  It didn't take long for the back yard to be covered and the words to Winter Wonderland began to filter through my head. Unfortunately, my parents drive took them about an hour extra due to the crap roads, but they made it. Finn and I had just gone outside on a snowy adventure when they pulled into the driveway (read: Finn was dying to go outside into the snow and I could see that the sidewalk needed some serious shoveling done, hence the "adventure.").

Our family and friends arrived on Friday afternoon for the feast.  There was lots of snacking, lots of puppy dog kisses, a few baby melt-downs, and some family pictures taken in the snow.  There was a long drawn-out game of Monopoly between the tween crowd, Abby fell down the stairs - and remained unharmed, and Ginny the dog tried her hardest to make friends with Finn (he was having none of her adorableness and chose instead to be held.  By me.  A lot.).  Two 6-foot long tables surrounded by 14 chairs held the masses of food and people for dinner.  We all said what we were thankful for, which takes a minute when you have 9 adults, 3 tweens, and 2 toddlers.  I was - and still am - thankful for every person who happens to find themselves around my table at any time of the year, for plenty of food to eat, and for safe travels.

We pretty much ate everything; there was not much for leftovers, which is a good thing for my refrigerator (and my waist), but not so much when I really wanted a snack of mashed potatoes and gravy on Friday night (there were no potatoes leftover to snack on.  Or gravy.  I probably would have eaten the gravy with a spoon and no potatoes.).  For as much work as I though the turducken would be, it seemed to be no more time-consuming than doing a traditional turkey (which we've done in a brine before, and also takes preparing a few days in advance.).  I wanted to take more pictures but I don't even know what I was doing  - setting the table, probably, or holding Finn - and I turned around and it was in the oven, roasted and done.  It was pretty tasty and I would not be opposed to doing it again.

We did have leftovers of the turducken beast and let me assure you, it does make some mighty tasty turkey/duck/chicken/stuffing turnovers a few days later.  And my pastry crust was flaky.  And Uriah even made gravy for them.  I might still be dreaming of Turducken Turnovers.

I think I want to have Thanksgiving at my house every year for the next forever.  Whether our families will oblige remains to be seen.  But I love Thanksgiving and so I will cook for whomever wants to come to my house and eat at my table.

And also, I really (selfishly) loved not having to travel, because this is what a few hours difference will make:

Thursday at 11:49 am (L) | Thursday at 8:40 pm (R)

Thankfuls

We are hosting Thanksgiving at our house this year.  A small gathering of Minnesota family on Friday since Uriah has to feed the masses on Thursday.  The small humans and I have big plans to watch movies and eat pizza on Thursday and I am actually looking forward to the quietness of Thursday as we gear up for Friday.  We tend to be a little over-zealous when it comes to entertaining, so Uriah is making a Turducken, which is a duck inside of a chicken inside of a turkey, layered with venison stuffing and roasted.  Each bird needs to be boned and the idea is that when you slice it, you'll have a layer of  of each bird.  I am not sure how one goes about boning a chicken, duck, and turkey; add to that the fact that Uriah threw out his back yesterday and is hobbling around like I did two summers ago, it's going to be an interesting weekend.  But we do nothing if we don't do it big.  If I have my wits about me, and my camera, I will blog about it next week - the turducken, not the hobbling; although I will probably have stories about that, too!

Anyway...things I am thankful for this year: another year with Uriah (and Finn and Abby, too), family - and soon a new member niece or nephew to make family gatherings a little bigger, a new beginning, having an over-all healthy family, Minnesota and Lake Superior and hikes and walks and runs, positive steps toward potty training and a little boy who's not such a baby anymore, the men and women who have served our country and those who continue to do so, nap time, books and hot coffee and cozy slippers, being home.

I had the lofty attainable goal of loosing 8 pounds by Thanksgiving and I didn't quite make it (I blame the martinis and daylight savings time and my own unambitious ways), but I did lose a little bit of weight, so I will mark that as a success. I've been almost a year on WW, and in that time I've managed to maintain a 25 pound weight loss (give or take a couple of pounds in either direction)  I am very thankful for that.  I've recently found that counting calories has its place, too.  It's a balance and I'm trying to remember that some days are easier that others and sometimes I just need to make it easier for myself.

Happy Thanksgiving Weekend!  May you eat until you are content, enjoy family and friends, and save room for pie (or, with the demise of Hostess, perhaps a non-traditional Twinkie Cake?!  I might just have to add it to my already gigantic weekend menu...).

We are hosting Thanksgiving at our house this year.  A small gathering of Minnesota family on Friday since Uriah has to feed the masses on Thursday.  The small humans and I have big plans to watch movies and eat pizza on Thursday and I am actually looking forward to the quietness of Thursday as we gear up for Friday.  We tend to be a little over-zealous when it comes to entertaining, so Uriah is making a Turducken, which is a duck inside of a chicken inside of a turkey, layered with venison stuffing and roasted.  Each bird needs to be boned and the idea is that when you slice it, you'll have a layer of  of each bird.  I am not sure how one goes about boning a chicken, duck, and turkey; add to that the fact that Uriah threw out his back yesterday and is hobbling around like I did two summers ago, it's going to be an interesting weekend.  But we do nothing if we don't do it big.  If I have my wits about me, and my camera, I will blog about it next week - the turducken, not the hobbling; although I will probably have stories about that, too!

Anyway...things I am thankful for this year: another year with Uriah (and Finn and Abby, too), family - and soon a new member niece or nephew to make family gatherings a little bigger, a new beginning, having an over-all healthy family, Minnesota and Lake Superior and hikes and walks and runs, positive steps toward potty training and a little boy who's not such a baby anymore, the men and women who have served our country and those who continue to do so, nap time, books and hot coffee and cozy slippers, being home.

I had the lofty attainable goal of loosing 8 pounds by Thanksgiving and I didn't quite make it (I blame the martinis and daylight savings time and my own unambitious ways), but I did lose a little bit of weight, so I will mark that as a success. I've been almost a year on WW, and in that time I've managed to maintain a 25 pound weight loss (give or take a couple of pounds in either direction)  I am very thankful for that.  I've recently found that counting calories has its place, too.  It's a balance and I'm trying to remember that some days are easier that others and sometimes I just need to make it easier for myself.

Happy Thanksgiving Weekend!  May you eat until you are content, enjoy family and friends, and save room for pie (or, with the demise of Hostess, perhaps a non-traditional Twinkie Cake?!  I might just have to add it to my already gigantic weekend menu...).

You Capture | Weekly Favorites

It's been an instagram kind of picture-taking life these days.  My phone is convenient and some days (lately) I'm just too tired to dig out my big girl camera.  We've been holed up in the kitchen working on potty training (read: floor is easy to clean, no stairs to climb, big-boy potty tucked in a corner right next to the Target Toy Catalog).  Some days are crap - Sunday Finn sat on the potty for 20 minutes.  We talked about church and songs and dump trucks.  He hopped off with a quick, "All done!  Play cars."  I swear, not two minutes later I went to check on him in his room and there was a mysterious puddle on his car's street mat.  It looked as though Hurricane Sandy had visited the red house on Matchbox Street.  And he was adamant that he did not pee, in spite of the evidence to the contrary.  Some days are good - like yesterday when we made it through our entire walk/run route and then to the park and finally to the library with dry pants.  We headed straight for the bathroom when we got to the library and, success!  Then we were back home and it was like starting over at square one.  Today we're about equal with accidents vs. in the potty.  I've been peed on twice and have already done a load of laundry dedicated just to Finn.  

Nobody said this was going to be so hard.

Made some Honey-Cinnamon Granola.  I've been eating it for breakfast with yogurt and trying really, really hard not to snack on it throughout the day.  I have plans to blog the recipe.  Stay tuned if you're interested.

There is not a happier boy than when Uriah gets home from work; Finn can be such a show-off, trying to squeeze every last bit of attention out of Uriah that he can.

Whole Wheat Blueberry-Cinnamon Swirl bread.  It just occurred to me that I must be on some sort of cinnamon kick.  This made amazing French toast.  I still have to figure out the whole wheat to all-purpose flour ratio; the bread didn't rise as much as I'd like, but I've been trying to substitute whole wheat flour for some of the all-purpose in a few of my recipes.  I guess there really is a science to baking - I should stop rolling my eyes at Uriah when he tells me that.

When I found him, I didn't know if I should laugh or cry.  And for the record, as soon as your kid figures out he can climb up onto the changing table it's time to take it down and dive into potty-training with a vengeance   Also, sunblock is a beast to get out of hair.

Hope you're having a somewhat better week than I am, although I can't complain too loudly - the small snow flurries haven't accumulated yet, so there's still time to be outside.  Speaking of, it's time to run off some steam (and hopefully lull a little boy into a stroller nap on the trail!).

{I Should Be Folding Laundry: You Capture | Weekly Favorites}

It's been an instagram kind of picture-taking life these days.  My phone is convenient and some days (lately) I'm just too tired to dig out my big girl camera.  We've been holed up in the kitchen working on potty training (read: floor is easy to clean, no stairs to climb, big-boy potty tucked in a corner right next to the Target Toy Catalog).  Some days are crap - Sunday Finn sat on the potty for 20 minutes.  We talked about church and songs and dump trucks.  He hopped off with a quick, "All done!  Play cars."  I swear, not two minutes later I went to check on him in his room and there was a mysterious puddle on his car's street mat.  It looked as though Hurricane Sandy had visited the red house on Matchbox Street.  And he was adamant that he did not pee, in spite of the evidence to the contrary.  Some days are good - like yesterday when we made it through our entire walk/run route and then to the park and finally to the library with dry pants.  We headed straight for the bathroom when we got to the library and, success!  Then we were back home and it was like starting over at square one.  Today we're about equal with accidents vs. in the potty.  I've been peed on twice and have already done a load of laundry dedicated just to Finn.  

Nobody said this was going to be so hard.

Made some Honey-Cinnamon Granola.  I've been eating it for breakfast with yogurt and trying really, really hard not to snack on it throughout the day.  I have plans to blog the recipe.  Stay tuned if you're interested.

There is not a happier boy than when Uriah gets home from work; Finn can be such a show-off, trying to squeeze every last bit of attention out of Uriah that he can.

Whole Wheat Blueberry-Cinnamon Swirl bread.  It just occurred to me that I must be on some sort of cinnamon kick.  This made amazing French toast.  I still have to figure out the whole wheat to all-purpose flour ratio; the bread didn't rise as much as I'd like, but I've been trying to substitute whole wheat flour for some of the all-purpose in a few of my recipes.  I guess there really is a science to baking - I should stop rolling my eyes at Uriah when he tells me that.

When I found him, I didn't know if I should laugh or cry.  And for the record, as soon as your kid figures out he can climb up onto the changing table it's time to take it down and dive into potty-training with a vengeance   Also, sunblock is a beast to get out of hair.

Hope you're having a somewhat better week than I am, although I can't complain too loudly - the small snow flurries haven't accumulated yet, so there's still time to be outside.  Speaking of, it's time to run off some steam (and hopefully lull a little boy into a stroller nap on the trail!).

{I Should Be Folding Laundry: You Capture | Weekly Favorites}

20 minutes.

Yesterday Uriah had to run into work to place an order.  He typically does this on Sunday mornings, and although it's technically his day off and our "family day," it doesn't take that long and I've gotten used to the hour or so that he's at work before he comes home and we make a great big brunch and spend the rest of the day together. Yesterday he offered to take Finn with him on an adventure.  I hastily scribbled a grocery list and sent them off to do their man-chores.

I was staring down the face of at least an hour to myself.  We've had a full-on week of entertaining.  Daniel and Ady had spent the previous weekend with us doing fall things like pumpkin carving and walking to the lake and counting deer in our yard.  That was followed closely by the arrival of my in-laws.  Uriah was off for (almost) 3 whole days in a row, a rarity for this family, as his parents had made the trip up from Kansas City, so we got to play tourist in our own new city, which is kind of fun, actually.  But Uriah's day off was spent playing tour-guide and not doing our regularly scheduled programming (chores) and that sort of takes it's toll on a house of 4 after a few days.  Usually, I try to take advantage of Finn's nap time as my time, but inevitably I find myself emptying the dishwasher or folding a load of laundry or sweeping something up and by the time I do sit down, he's ready to be up and playing.

Yesterday morning was no different.  The moment the door closed behind the boys, I looked around and decided to just water some plants real quick.  That turned into sweeping up the dead leaves that had fallen, taking out the trash and tackling a load of dishes that had mysteriously piled up.  Before I knew it, I was upstairs in Finn's room sorting toys and switching out what he had upstairs with what was downstairs.  I paused long enough to make a list of some preschool ideas I want to work on this week with Finn and was quickly back to making the bed, watering more plants, and doing a bit of dusting (read: I wiped away the dust only where I could see it.).

Why do I do this?  All of these tasks I can do easily during the day with Finn underfoot, but there is a little nagging feeling of guilt in taking a few minutes for myself when I can see stuff around me that needs to be done.  I'm learning, however, that what needs to be done is relevant to the situation.  Does the dryer need to be emptied?  Yes, obviously.  My family likes to wear clean, semi-wrinkle-free clothes (I draw the line at ironing.).  But it can also be done eventually, and spinning a load for an extra 20 minutes to get the wrinkles out while I enjoy a cup of coffee and a chapter in my book is okay, too.

Sometimes, what needs to be done is taking care of myself.  This week I am going to try to give myself a little gift during nap time each day where I unplug, enjoy a chapter in my book, or an uninterrupted cheese and apple snack that I am not required to share.  For 20 minutes, I will not be answering my phone, logging into Facebook,  Pinterest, or my email.  I will not sweep or wipe or fold anything.  20 minutes of quiet just for me.

And then I can go back to being Wonder Woman and getting it all done for everyone else.
What are your plans for this week?

Yesterday Uriah had to run into work to place an order.  He typically does this on Sunday mornings, and although it's technically his day off and our "family day," it doesn't take that long and I've gotten used to the hour or so that he's at work before he comes home and we make a great big brunch and spend the rest of the day together. Yesterday he offered to take Finn with him on an adventure.  I hastily scribbled a grocery list and sent them off to do their man-chores.

I was staring down the face of at least an hour to myself.  We've had a full-on week of entertaining.  Daniel and Ady had spent the previous weekend with us doing fall things like pumpkin carving and walking to the lake and counting deer in our yard.  That was followed closely by the arrival of my in-laws.  Uriah was off for (almost) 3 whole days in a row, a rarity for this family, as his parents had made the trip up from Kansas City, so we got to play tourist in our own new city, which is kind of fun, actually.  But Uriah's day off was spent playing tour-guide and not doing our regularly scheduled programming (chores) and that sort of takes it's toll on a house of 4 after a few days.  Usually, I try to take advantage of Finn's nap time as my time, but inevitably I find myself emptying the dishwasher or folding a load of laundry or sweeping something up and by the time I do sit down, he's ready to be up and playing.

Yesterday morning was no different.  The moment the door closed behind the boys, I looked around and decided to just water some plants real quick.  That turned into sweeping up the dead leaves that had fallen, taking out the trash and tackling a load of dishes that had mysteriously piled up.  Before I knew it, I was upstairs in Finn's room sorting toys and switching out what he had upstairs with what was downstairs.  I paused long enough to make a list of some preschool ideas I want to work on this week with Finn and was quickly back to making the bed, watering more plants, and doing a bit of dusting (read: I wiped away the dust only where I could see it.).

Why do I do this?  All of these tasks I can do easily during the day with Finn underfoot, but there is a little nagging feeling of guilt in taking a few minutes for myself when I can see stuff around me that needs to be done.  I'm learning, however, that what needs to be done is relevant to the situation.  Does the dryer need to be emptied?  Yes, obviously.  My family likes to wear clean, semi-wrinkle-free clothes (I draw the line at ironing.).  But it can also be done eventually, and spinning a load for an extra 20 minutes to get the wrinkles out while I enjoy a cup of coffee and a chapter in my book is okay, too.

Sometimes, what needs to be done is taking care of myself.  This week I am going to try to give myself a little gift during nap time each day where I unplug, enjoy a chapter in my book, or an uninterrupted cheese and apple snack that I am not required to share.  For 20 minutes, I will not be answering my phone, logging into Facebook,  Pinterest, or my email.  I will not sweep or wipe or fold anything.  20 minutes of quiet just for me.

And then I can go back to being Wonder Woman and getting it all done for everyone else.
What are your plans for this week?

What we've been up to...

Finn was the lucky recipient of some Elmo bedding from Cousin Dane.

I finally got my sofa up here Missouri.  It is good for naps and for watching the news.

5 months without a sofa is a long, long time.

 Leaves are falling and raking takes more time because someone wants to jump in every pile.

I also caught him "fishing" in a pile with a stick.  He told me he wasn't catching anything.

Sort of like his Dad...

 The rain has finally started to come and Finn wants to use the umbrella all of the time.

We also looked at some rain boots at Target.  There were firetruck rain boots and Hello, Kitty rain boots.

Finn wants the Kitty rain boots.

 This is the only photo I have from our 3rd anniversary.

Trust me, we dressed up - I wore make-up! Uriah wore a tie! 

We went to a fancy-pants restaurant and discussed wedded bliss and kids and life.

No photo from that, but bedtime stories pretty much sum up our happiness.

We were able to spend an afternoon having lunch lunch and hiking with some old-for-me, new-for-Finn friends.  I love catching up with girlfriends as if it hasn't been years since we were able to sit down and talk about our lives.  Conversation fell into place easily.  I like friendships like that.

And then Finn snoozed all the way home. 

I love that, too.

Pumpkins have been carved - a fun project with Uncle Dan and Ady.

Finn tried to eat the pumpkin guts again this year.  We let him.

Abby changed her mind about her design again this year.  We waited patiently.

Abby's has seed teeth and Finn's has angry eyes and a sad mouth, but he loved the eyebrows on Ady's the most.

They look so cute glowing.

 Uriah's parents are in town for the week and they have brought Finn Uriah's old firetruck to play with.

Finn wants to ride it constantly.  And ring the bell.  Luckily it's a quiet bell.

I like bath time the best these days.  

We've been so busy that it seems the only time I have to lay back and rest is when Finn is splish-splashing.

With a baby and the holidays fast approaching, I think it'll be awhile before we sink back into our quiet days.

Finn was the lucky recipient of some Elmo bedding from Cousin Dane.

I finally got my sofa up here Missouri.  It is good for naps and for watching the news.

5 months without a sofa is a long, long time.

 Leaves are falling and raking takes more time because someone wants to jump in every pile.

I also caught him "fishing" in a pile with a stick.  He told me he wasn't catching anything.

Sort of like his Dad...

 The rain has finally started to come and Finn wants to use the umbrella all of the time.

We also looked at some rain boots at Target.  There were firetruck rain boots and Hello, Kitty rain boots.

Finn wants the Kitty rain boots.

 This is the only photo I have from our 3rd anniversary.

Trust me, we dressed up - I wore make-up! Uriah wore a tie! 

We went to a fancy-pants restaurant and discussed wedded bliss and kids and life.

No photo from that, but bedtime stories pretty much sum up our happiness.

We were able to spend an afternoon having lunch lunch and hiking with some old-for-me, new-for-Finn friends.  I love catching up with girlfriends as if it hasn't been years since we were able to sit down and talk about our lives.  Conversation fell into place easily.  I like friendships like that.

And then Finn snoozed all the way home. 

I love that, too.

Pumpkins have been carved - a fun project with Uncle Dan and Ady.

Finn tried to eat the pumpkin guts again this year.  We let him.

Abby changed her mind about her design again this year.  We waited patiently.

Abby's has seed teeth and Finn's has angry eyes and a sad mouth, but he loved the eyebrows on Ady's the most.

They look so cute glowing.

 Uriah's parents are in town for the week and they have brought Finn Uriah's old firetruck to play with.

Finn wants to ride it constantly.  And ring the bell.  Luckily it's a quiet bell.

I like bath time the best these days.  

We've been so busy that it seems the only time I have to lay back and rest is when Finn is splish-splashing.

With a baby and the holidays fast approaching, I think it'll be awhile before we sink back into our quiet days.