Monday, November 30, 2015

First snow-2015

As predicted, Lincoln is loving being outside in the winter just as much as he does in the fall. I joked with our neighbors throughout the fall that they would see me outside with him in the dark, cold snow and that is exactly what is happening! 
Regan took him sledding down the driveway while I shoveled tonight and their giggles were contagious! 

He built a snowman earlier in the day with Grandma Sheri and loves his little friend :) 


I will be investing in the warmest cold weather gear that I can find this winter!

O Christmas Tree

The girls and I have always enjoyed decorating the Christmas tree, something we do together each and every year. Sidney had to miss out on a part of the tree decorating (her social calendar is getting busier by the day!). So Regan and I got started early. As she gets older (and taller) she has been able to help with the lights in addition to the ornaments. Something I really appreciate! 


 Sidney was able to add many ornaments when she arrived home. Her placements were perfect and sweet Lincoln did great at just watching. Thank goodness! 
(Only lost 3 ornaments this year....so far). 


Seems that every few years, we have a good "tree story"....and this year we added another. 
The thing started tipping. Despite the mother of all tree stands I had to buy 5 years ago while Ryan stood holding up the tree waiting for my return (he still can't laugh at that story like I can!). 
After we had it all nice and decorated, we sat down for dinner and noticed "it's tipping"!
Crap. 
Ryan stood holding it, while I unscrewed the bottom in an attempt to reposition it. While still decorated (with only German glass ornaments!). I had enough smarts to take off the 2 most prized ornaments that I inherited from my grandmother. And snap a quick picture. 
With pine needles covering my head, I surfaced from beneath the tree and disaster was avoided! 


These three are so very loved and are our reason for celebrating this Christmas season! 

Friday, November 27, 2015

Black Friday fun

Well we didn't do any crazy early  morning shopping, but we did manage to have some fun today. 
It's tradition to head out this Thanksgiving weekend and buy our Christmas tree. This year, we headed to a local place that had a few surprises for the kids. 
They were mad when we asked them to bring hats and mittens, but it all made sense once we got to our destination. 
First up: Santa! 


Then it was a quick walk around to pick out our tree. I don't like to waste much time. Let's be real, I have a general idea of what we need before we get there (the ceiling hasn't gotten taller in 5 years). This year, within 10 minutes, I pointed at a tree and said: "that one"! Ryan doesn't have much a preference and is just happy the process is over :) 


And then it was over to ride in a wagon pulled by these two friendly guys! Lincoln was in his glory, although wasn't thrilled we stood next to them to take a picture. We went on a 20 minute ride around the lake, weaving around the trails and taking in the chilly sights. 


Tonight we ventured down to the new Holidazzle Village. The girls brought their ice skates and took a few laps around the rink while the rest of us watched from the sidelines. 
There were so many people at the Village tonight (opening night) that we didn't see any of the vendors and no one wanted to wait in line for food, so it was a bit of a let down for our family. 

Thankfully, there were some pretty awesome fireworks that lit up the cold sky and mesmerized all of us with their red, greens and yellows! 
It sure was a fun way to spend Black Friday with our little family of five! 

Thanksgiving and a snowfall

Living in Minnesota, we never quite know what to expect for weather around Thanksgiving. There have been years when it is bitter cold and miserable, one (not terribly long ago) where we wore sweaters and ran around outside, and then there was this year: snow. 
Yep, a beautiful pretty snow came down just enough to make a mess of the roads and allow the kids to go outside and explore. 


Lincoln pitched a complete fit when we tried to put his snowpants on. And the boots?, that was worse! He downright refused his new winter coat and insisted on his (much too small) jacket from last year. But eventually, he ventured outside with Regan and Sidney and had a complete blast playing in the snow. 

The best thing about having three kids, they have each other! And goodness do they love to play together. 
Oh we have plenty of fights, I'm not painting an all rosy picture!
But when things are just right, they are exactly just right.  


We spent Thanksgiving at home with family. All of the grandparents made the trek through the snow and we even had Hope with us (love that girl!). 
I neglected to take very many pictures as I was busy cleaning and cooking but we sure have a lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving. 

And at the end of the night, after everyone had gone home and we were getting ready to bring Hope home, I turned the corner to find Lincoln snuggled up by the fire, flipping through my phone. I'm positive he was watching videos of himself, or YouTube videos of trains. 
No doubt that I'll get a picture of him exactly like this in another 14 years. 

Happy Thanksgiving! 

Wednesday, November 25, 2015

Giving thanks

This Thanksgiving, we have so much to be thankful for. So very much. This was one of those weeks where I reflect on our health and am forever grateful. I can't even put into words how thankful. 
I looked back on all of our Thanksgivings as parents and was reminded that it was Regan's first Thanksgiving that she took her first steps! Oh how I remember the excitement in her (and our) face! 


A lot has happened between 2006 and now. Most importantly, two more beauties have joined our family to make us complete. As this Thanksgiving season is upon us, we say thanks for all that we have. 


Friday, November 20, 2015

Life: Happiness and Health

With working (nearly) full time and 3 young children, sometimes it's all we can do to stay afloat. I wrestle with being "good enough" both at home and at work. Knowing there is always more to be done on both fronts: an extra hour at the hospital could wrap up a lot of work, but the loss of an hour with the kids is time I will never get back. The house needs tending to, my car looks like a bag of pretzels exploded inside and the kids are begging for some attention. And by the time they go to bed, we both crash on the couch in pure exhaustion. This is life. I've read a lot of inspirational pieces lately, but a few have hit home. One (which I don't have a copy of), told me to stop looking for the next milestone/opportunity, and instead, enjoy the current moment. Boy are we trying hard to do just that. Not looking for what next week or next month has in store, but swallowing up the time we have right now. Enjoy it to the fullest. 

The second was this letter, because it really is funny and matches our lives exactly right now (I've shortened/edited it a bit): 

"Dear Toddler Mom,

There are smushed Cheerios on the seats of your car.  You went to work with a Donald Duck sticker on your rear end…and didn’t find it until this evening when you were cooking dinner. 
The tantrums are at a whole new level.  How dare you turn on { garbarge trucks }, when he clearly wanted { trains }?  I mean, he asked for "ucky", but don’t you read minds?  Also, he wanted chicken nuggets for dinner- no, wait, now he wants pizza.  Or cookies.  No cookies!  Stop it, mommy.  Apple juice, please?  Is avocado a fruit or a vegetable?  Doesn’t matter, that’s all he’ll eat for dinner anyway.  Did he just throw the apple juice on the floor?  And these are just the tantrums that we can semi-explain.
What about the tantrum on the way to the park the other day?  When you had to carry a flailing screaming toddler all the way home?  You had no idea what caused it, but you were sure someone would stop you and accuse you of kidnapping that poor little guy.  Actually, you wished they would have.  Maybe the nice officer would give you a ride home.  Or just turn on his siren – that should distract him, right?
The laundry you just folded is now artfully strewn across the floor.  You can’t remember the last time you used the restroom without fingers sticking under the door or someone yelling “Moooommmmmmmyyyyyyy” through the door.  Is there a wine delivery service in town?
I know today seems hard.  But soak it up.  Because one day you’ll wish for these days back.  Someday you’ll shed a tear thinking about the little hands that were “helping” with the laundry.  You’ll miss the hours spent dancing to  music.  Crashing cars off the edge of the couch.  Plus, think of all the calories you burned carrying a thirty pound resisting child home.  Definitely enough for a margarita, right?
Soak it up.  Sing “Let It Go” at the top of your lungs.  Run in circles around the house.  Have a wine break as necessary.  It’ll all be okay.  Bedtime is near.
You’ve STILL got this, momma." 

Reading that, talking to friends, it all helps. The girls are older and how quickly we forgot just how different having a toddler is. But I just know we will miss it when this phase is over. So we're hanging on for dear life! 
The last piece, I stumbled upon and it resonated hard with my own line of work. The stuff that happens inside the walls of the hospital, it's tough. Day in and day out, we are faced with scenarios and problems that are sometimes unexplainable. They're sad and emotional; but they make me so very grateful for the health of my family. Something taken for granted all too often. 

"Truth be told, happiness is not the absence of problems, but the ability to deal with them. Imagine all the wondrous things your mind might embrace if it weren’t wrapped so tightly around your struggles. Always look at what you have, instead of what you have lost. Because it’s not what the world takes away from you that counts; it’s what you do with what you have left." 


A great reminder for this month of thanksgiving. 

Sunday, November 15, 2015

An early Thanksgiving

We celebrated an early thanksgiving this weekend as Ben/Jon were able to be in town. Ben made a mess out of our kitchen but created a wonderful meal for us all to enjoy Saturday evening. He worked the day away, while the rest of us took Lincoln to his very first movie theater experience (I got the most giddy when they told me the popcorn was made with cottonseed oil...no butter!). Lincoln sat patiently for an entire hour before he started to get restless. Not bad. And he felt like such a big boy attending a movie with his older sibs!

From the get-go on Friday, Lincoln took a liking to Jon and insisted he play with him, change him, and help get him snacks throughout the entire weekend. Lucky for us, Jon obliged and played trains, trucks, danced, watched YouTube videos all with Lincoln by his side! 


Of course, whenever Hope comes around, the girls are all over her. We played a few rounds of Twister before it was on to some made up game of charades (that somehow even I got suckered in to!). We laughed so hard at our ineffective attempts to act out words and squealed for joy when someone guessed it correctly! 


Love this extended family of ours and the fact that we got to spend some time together in the spirit of Thanksgiving. I know how thankful we are to have each other, and it's safe to say the kiddos are thankful for them too (I snuck a peek at Regan's reflection journal for school tonight and Regan wrote about her meal and how much she enjoyed it!).  


We spent Sunday at Minihaha exploring and showing everyone a place we love so very much. 
While we waited for the rest of the crew to pick up some coffee, we played around at the park. Ryan and I chuckled at these little teeter-totters....with rubber tires on the ground below to prevent a big THUD. 
"back when we were kids...."


We were lucky that Regan climbed up here before Grandma Jan showed up! She might not have appreciated those heights as much as Regan does :)  


Eventually we made our way over to the falls and headed down to hike around. Lincoln did plenty of walking around (which made for a nice nap later in the day), including down 100 stairs....Regan may have counted :) 


It's no secret, that we love this place. The pictures are stunning and all of us just love to explore all of the nature around. 
Disclaimer: I took a LOT of pictures! 










(we're missing Hope who had to work all morning)

Thankful this November for quality time with family! 

Sunday, November 08, 2015

Elmo Party

Some days it feels like birthdays last several weeks, and Lincoln's fell into this category as we finally held his Elmo party today. He was pretty excited to see the Elmo balloons come home with us from the party store! 



There were presents and presents and more presents for our favorite 2 year old. Harlow was a good helper as she showed Lincoln just how to rip off that paper. She was patient and very sweet with him! Then he lost interest and Grandma Sheri opened the rest! 


I've always loved picking out the kid's birthday cakes (usually with some input from the kids when they are old enough), but with Lincoln, the responsibility to bake and decorate the cake falls totally on me.
And I don't like it one bit. 
If these allergies persist, I'll be enrolling in some cake decorating classes..... 


Good thing he could care less what it looks like (it really wasn't that terrible; and the pinata effect was pretty darn cool). He was thrilled to see Elmo on top and even happier that he could eat it. All if it. Without a fear or being given an Epi afterwards. 
This boy of ours loves when we sing Happy Birthday to him-just look at that smile! 



After a couple of rounds of "happy birthday" and his best efforts at blowing out the candles, I started cutting/plating the cake. Regan was taking orders of cake/ice cream and skipped right over our birthday man on accident. Kari caught him, sitting like this, waiting patiently for his piece of cake and coconut ice cream. 

Thankfully, the smile reappeared as he finally was served his piece. 
Thank you to all who helped us celebrate! 
Happy 2nd Birthday Lincoln!
We love you! 

I make a slideshow every year for the kids' birthdays, something I've been doing since Regan turned 1 and just now, have I realized how to upload them to the blog. Click HERE to view Lincolns 2nd year. 

Saturday, November 07, 2015

Flashback videos

I found this video searching for something on my computer. I simply couldn't resist to post it. This girl kills me! Her shaky butt, and the way she was telling Grandma Sheri to go sit down is hilarious!

Happy flashback to circa 2010: Sidney's first dance recital.

Wednesday, November 04, 2015

Halloween 2015

Trick or treat has come and gone. Though we are into November, this tease of summer weather has me begging for July again! 
We prepped for Halloween by carving pumpkins...lots of them. The girls did great helping and here are a few of our finished products. 

The Friday before Halloween was the Harvest parties at school. With 2 in school, it means 2 separate parties at the exact same time (our school does all parties on the same day, at the same time). As lovely as that sounds, it means I can't be in 2 places at one time. And so, I have to alter my days volunteering in each class and then ensuring someone is around to watch Lincoln. Because let's be honest, adding him to the mix of chaos at school would prove disastrous! This time it was Sidney's turn to have me. I loved seeing her interact with her new (and some old) friends. 
Sidney and Emma

I arrived a tad early to help all those first graders get ready so when they were prepped and ready, I dashed over to Regan's class for a quick photo op. 
These girls are just fabulous. And their parents have become friends to us. 
Because it takes a village....
Josie, Abigail, Addyson, Regan, Kaitlyn and Becca

After a quick parade around the school, it was time to start the parties. Sidney took her hand at bowling, but first, Mr A had to chuckle and remind her to throw underhand! Our little softball player was winding up with that plastic pumpkin....


Here is her wonderful group of first grade friends. 


Once Halloween rolled around, my mom came up to help man the house while we took the kids out trick or treating. Lincoln was terribly unhappy as I put on his Dalmatian costume so I gave him a dum dum ("orje " his favorite) and he quickly cooperated for pictures. We made it about 15 houses before Lincoln asked to go home; eventually I got sad anyway as I realized for every 10 pieces of candy he received, he was able to eat maybe 1. 
Darn allergies.  
He was adorable chasing the girls from house to house, but what surprised us was his concern for "cows" (aka: cars) as we crossed the street all night. He refused to walk along the side of the street (then the next day he darted into our street after a ball without a care in the world!). The girls made a haul as they kept going for another hour. At the end of the night, we dumped the bags into a pile and I think we have enough candy for 6 months!  
 Happy Halloween!