Be Grateful It's Warm

As I was sweating profusely today and trying to stay cool (in 96% humidity), I found myself thinking, "remember how much you look forward to summer"...as my mind travels back to February and a few pictures I took one freezin' cold day....

My car thermostat on Feb 10, 2008


A homemade sign along Hwy 53 in Duluth (driving north)

The reverse side of the sign (as you travel south)


Oh, how we love Duluth! While in Canal Park recently, I saw a t-shirt that said, "the coldest winter I ever spent was the summer I spent in Duluth"....I'd disagree today!

Another Weekend Has Passed Us By

Has another weekend already passed us by? I swear the clock ticks faster on the weekends.

When Isaac was several months old, I remember wishing that he had a "lovie"--something to hold on to, something that would calm him down. Well, that has come back to bite me in the rear. For the past 8 months, he has been smitten with a stuffed puppy Great Grandma Marie and Grandpa Gene gave him for his birthday last year, as well as a fuzzy blanket from some friends of ours. We've been able to leave the blanket and puppy in the crib....until about 2 or 3 weeks ago (insert sad, pouty face). My only saving grace is that it hasn't left the house...yet. Notice the picture below. The only reason why you don't see a screaming, angry child is because he's eating breakfast with one hand and holding the puppy and blanket in another.

Below is a video from two weekends ago when we were at my sister and brother-in-law's house. Isaac was using a new sippy cup that's shaped like a lion. My mom was asking him, "what does a lion say?". Afterwards, he makes a face where he tightens all the muscles in his face. He's figured out that he gets a pretty good reaction from people when he does it...

Before closing out tonight, I need to give a great, big "shout out" to my friends who ran in Grandma's Half Marathon on Saturday--Courtney, Michaela, and Ruth! You ladies are an inspiration...now, if only I liked running....

Our Home

Knowing that we are going to be in this house for a long time, I've been telling myself that there's no rush to "get things done". Well, anyone that knows me knows that that lasts for, oh, about a minute. But I couldn't wait any longer to show off our new home!

living room, from the front door (notice new art on wall!):

dining room, sunroom, & kitchen from living room:

kitchen from dining room:

up half flight of stairs is a hall bath, guest bedroom, master bedroom & bath, and Isaac's room:

down half flight of stairs from the living room is the family room. I just redid the room and forgot to take new pics! So, stay tuned for an updated pic on that.

down a half flight from the family room is the rec room (aka man cave, playroom). there's a bathroom and laundry room off to the left:

I know certain members of my family will be disappointed since there's no pic/video of Isaac, but I tried downloading a video and it was taking forever...it'll have to wait.

A great party, one sick kid, and the best gadget ever!

This past Saturday my mom (with a little help from my sister and I) hosted a bridal shower in St. Cloud for a family friend. She moved after 4th grade, but our families have kept in touch. It was fun to meet her bridesmaids, as they know Brooke as an adult, and most of my memories are of Brooke as a kid. It was fun to swap stories! The party was a success, if I do say so myself!

Eddy and Isaac were also in St. Cloud, and because Eddy had been out of town all week recruiting, we had two cars there. So, when the party started, Eddy and Isaac headed back to Duluth. Eddy called after getting home and said he thought Isaac was sick. Fast forward to yesterday morning and his temp was 102.7 and was very fussy and clingy. So off to urgent care went Isaac and I, while Eddy mowed the lawn. Happy Father's Day, by the way! Sure enough, Isaac has an ear infection.

Eddy left at 2pm to recruit (again) this week. Isaac had woken up early, so he was able to say goodbye. Well, by 4pm, it was time for another nap. I decided to do some weeding/landscaping while he was sleeping. I kept working, and weeding, and raking...and finally decided to quit, even though I hadn't heard Isaac. I got inside and realized it was almost 8pm! I ended up waking him up and playing for a couple of hours. He went down at 10:30 and slept til 7:30. Amen.

The best gadget ever...one that you need to own if you have landscaping rocks in your yard...is a heavy-duty air compressor. Getting all of the (dead) arborvite remnants, leaves, and such out of the rock that completely surround our house was a daunting task. But, thanks to Eddy's dad, who gave him the compressor for Christmas, I blasted all that crap out of the rocks! Ok. Stop laughing. If you have landscaping rock, you know why I'm so excited. So, thanks, Steve!

I think I'm finally ready to post interior pics of our new house. I'm hoping to do that tonight...stay tuned!

ECFE friends

It's late, and well past my bedtime, but thought I'd steal a picture off a friend's blog and post it on ours! Isaac met up with two of his friends last week during an end-of-the-year ECFE (early childhood family education) picnic. They had about 5 adults trying to get them to look in one direction, at the same time. Not easy! I should also put a disclaimer in, as you might notice that Myla and Connor were wearing hats. Isaac and I got to the park after picking him up from daycare...we did not go home beforehand. Silly me didn't plan for it to be freezing cold. But don't worry, we didn't stay long!

Our ECFE class met every Wednesday for an hour and a half during the school year. It's been a wonderful thing, for both Isaac and myself. I encourage all parents with young children to go, if their schedules allow. Not only did Isaac get to play with other kids and lots of toys, I got to network, share stories, and vent about the challenges of being a parent with other parents. I met several women who have become very good friends and are a wonderful support network. We were all blessed to have a parent educator who walked us through many developmental milestones and behaviors our kids were going through. I found myself saying, "ooohhhh, that's why he's doing _______(fill in the blank)". Also, the three teachers that were in the classroom with the kids while we were having our parent time were excellent. Many of the parents expressed hope that we might be able to be in the same group next year.

Such a helper!

Isaac kept "getting in my way" when I was trying to do laundry last week. But then I realized he wanted to help, so I had him put laundry in the washer and grabbed the video camera. I think he could have done this all day!

We had a great weekend. A little shopping, some time down by the lake, a shake at The Malte Shoppe, planting flowers...and now it's back to reality. Eddy will be leaving today to recruit out of town this week, so I'm busy trying to get household stuff done before he leaves. We'll meet up in St. Cloud this weekend. Eddy hasn't seen my sister and her husband's house and my mom (with a little help from Lindsey and I) is hosting a bridal shower for childhood friend, Brooke. It will be busy, but fun. I'm looking forward to it.

This is why we live in Duluth

What a weekend! It's days like the ones we just had that we Duluthians dream about when we're shoveling 2 feet of snow in February....or April, for that matter. We were outside for a good portion of the weekend. Isaac continues to LOVE playing in the fountain in our backyard. I think he had 3 outfit changes due to trying to climb in/drinking/scooping water out. Eddy mowed the lawn for the 43rd time this season. I spent some money on flowers (not much, really...wink, wink). Saturday evening, we spent some time with our good friends; Eddy, Brian, and John went golfing, while Courtney and son, Ben, came with Isaac and I to the Lakewalk. It was glorious--barely needed a jacket. Isaac had a great time throwing rocks into the water...until he got a little too close and the waves doused his shoes!