Mama and Taye's week of fun....or not

So I'm back again...I'm making it a priority to keep the blog updated regularly so if nothing else we have a place that documents life as it happens.

Back in February our daycare provider took a week off so I did the same. Taye and I were going to have fun and have play dates but life had other ideas. Like I would get the worst cold known to man which would make me lose my voice. Has anyone parented a 2 year old with no voice? Yeah - he knew he had me :)

Monday we had snow and ice so we bundled up and went outside to shovel. I noticed some black smoke and thought it was the road behind ours. Nope - neighbors house down the way had a car fire. I felt so horrible for them but Taye got to watch the firetrucks and they even honked and waved at him so he felt special. And this I'm assuming is where the cold started.

Tuesday was a trip to Walmart so he could walk up and down the toy aisles and I could lean on the cart because kiddo needed to burn energy. Wednesday I felt better so we headed to the Mall of America to see the Sea Life aquarium. Not worth the money at all once he stops being free...not at all. When we got home from that, I lost my voice and the rest of the week is hazy...Taye was a champ though and took great naps so I could too!

Here are some pictures from the aquarium at MOA - seriously though, unless you have super, cheap tickets, find a real aquarium.

 

And so it begins!

I'm back!!

My blogging has been non-existant since September of 2011 (7 months or so..) and it's not for lack of fun, but exactly that...we've been having a lot of fun and I just haven't stopped to blog about it.

About 2 weeks ago I was on jury duty and wrote up a whole bunch of blog posts from the last 7 months or so and here they all are:

• Mateo - Eleven Months
• Mateo - Twelve Months
• Birthday party - WI style
• Halloween
• Family Pictures
• Merry Christmas
• Happy New Year
• First blood - and I'm not talking Rambo
• Baby Shower

I will be posting regularly again because I forget how much I love it.

First Blood - and I'm not talking Rambo

Mateo is pure boy (black eye at 10 mo) and he's always running and on the move. That means he trips and falls multiple times a day but usually nothing to big.

However, on Super Bowl Sunday, he was running around like a crazy person and somehow fell into the big speaker. He screamed and I thought he had hit is head. So I grab him and am calming him down and looking at his head. I didn't see a mark and couldn't understand why he was crying so hard. And then I saw it...what is that red stuff!! He had cut his ear.

The next thing I remember is yelling to joe "I need something...blood...I need something." To which he asked what I needed and my reply was "blood...I don't know."

It was kinda comical as I was not expecting to have to deal with that at this age. Guess what else, it's really hard to have a toddler sit still so the ear can stop bleeding...nearly impossible. So, at 14 months old, we have our first incident involving blood...how do I survive the next 18 years??

Ok - so looking at these pictures now, it doesn't look like

 that big of a deal but I promise you it was horrifying

Need some art work?

Amy's SIL Jenny is an amazing photographer. Seriously people, I mean AMAZING! In fact, at the bottom of the blog is a slide show from Amy's wedding and 95% of the pictures were taken by Jenny. For Amy and Luke's bridal shower, Jenny gave them a collage of pictures from Miller Park and it blew me away.

To show you just how amazing she is, here are some of my favorites from the wedding...

Well, Jenny just opened an ETSY store where she is selling her prints. If you're interested in some art work, check it out!!

Just Because

I saw this in an email on Friday night at April's house and we died laughing. It is way too adorable. I am amazed at the ukulele talent of this little boy and he is (again) just too darn adorable. It also makes me smile and I thought we could all use a smile today. Enjoy.

The Great Thanksgiving Jewelry Showdown

Joe and I were in ET for Thanksgiving this year and as usual, went shopping on Black Friday. One of the stores mom, Amy and I hit was Target, which was having a pretty good sale on a jewelry stand. Since the spring I have collected my fair share of jewels thanks to my fabulous friend April who started selling Premiere Jewelry.

And, thanks to my fabulous mom, she bought these jewelry stands for Amy and I as our christmas presents. Once back to mom and dad's we joked that we should time Joe and Luke and see who can put the stand together first.

Well, when we got back to MN, I called up Amy on that Sunday afternoon and said "Joe's ready if Luke is."

The rules were simple, the first one to finish and have it work, won. So Amy and I were on the phone and yelled "on your mark, get set, go!" Joe said to me, "Luke is using a power drill right?" To which I said "DUH. Of course. Why would you use just a screwdriver?"

About the same time Luke told Amy "You should call Brooke back and say no power tools." To which Amy replied, "Luke, they won't use power tools."

Well, I called Amy first to say we won and she said she was just getting ready to dial the phone. Then she said Joe just used a screwdriver right? Umm...nope. So needless to say, had Luke used a power drill or Joe a screwdriver, we're pretty sure Luke would have won.

Is this thing on?

I know it's been far too quiet and for reasons I don't much feel like going into. However, I am now back on track and have lots to fill you in on.

The previous post - about it being winter already, was the weekend that Joe had to work. That is not normal at all but there was some MBA convention thingy (yes, I listen well) at the Convention Center and Joe and had to be there to cook (yes, in front of live audience) and Jenny went with him to be his assistant. Below are some pictures of Joe in action. Maybe one day he can get his own show on Food Network!!

Nervous, nervous

Jenny and Joe

In action

Finished product

Wordless Wednesday

A little background to this picture...I asked Amy to send me some pictures of her honeymoon and this is what I got. To quote my marvelous sister, "Look closely, Rhino taking a leak! It seriously looks like a fire hose!"

Cakes

I have this friend who is super artistic. For those of you at our wedding you may remember her, the fabulous lady who sang at our ceremony. She found a new hobby: cakes and I don't mean every day cakes. Take a look:

I showed these pictures to Joe last night and he couldn't believe it! I've told her that she needs to open her own business because, yes, the cities are full of people that would pay for these cakes. I also told said friend that she needs to enter a Food Network Challenge and she could bring Joe as her sous chef.

Stealing pears

Joe and I have a pear tree in our backyard. The first year we had no pears because of the huge tree that towered over it. Last year, we had some but not much. This year, has been a pear explosion. Because the tree is so tall, we can't really get to the pears until they're on the ground and the squirrels get to us before them as seen below:

State Fair in Pictures

The is a long overdue post! At the beginning of the month Joe and I ventured out to the 'Great Minnesota Get Together' also known as the Minnesota State Fair. We went twice and the first Saturday we went it was almost too cool but it was fabulous. In my opinion, the perfect state fair weather. The next Saturday we went it was super hot but we stayed the longest we had ever stayed before. I think we made it until about 3 pm (usually we're out of there by noon).

Joe and I at the start of the day

The 'trash' sculpture - it is a sturgeon

For those that don't know, every year they pull trash out of

the Mississippi and create a sculpture out of it for the fair.

Sculpture from the front


The crowd (that's Joe's back)

The crowd

I refuse to die at work

From 2:30 to 3:15 I was stuck with the rest of the building in the second floor tornado shelter. We were let out for a brief 3 1/2 minutes - enough time to get to our office, sit back down at our desks and be told we had to go back to the second floor.

At this point I kept thinking, I just want to drive home because I do not want to die in this building. Not because I was afraid but because dying at my place of employment just seems depressing.

Last year a tornado went through Rhode Island where one of our sister companies are located. I was on a call with *Sara* and I asked how they were. She told me when the sirens went off, she got in her car and headed home. I was horrified! She left in the middle of a tornado warning!?!? Her reply was "I don't want to die in this crappy building!" Now, a year later, I understand.

After we were let out from the second shelter herding, I was done with work and ready to go. I called Joe and he said it was barely raining by us and everything had headed into WI. I left, after some assurance to my CTO that I a)would not sue b)the storm was East of my home and c)I would be fine. You see, I've been in my share of storms while in a car...

1997
My friend Jenny and I decided to go shopping and headed to Brookfield Square. It was raining but nothing too bad. We headed to Lerner (NY&CO now) and bought some jeans and got a free t-shirt. While in Lerner, the lights flickered and went off and then came back on. We decided to checkout and head home. We got drenched running to the parking lot.

We heard there was flooding and couldn't go home the way we came so I headed to Bluemound. We were in the middle lane right headed west right across from the strip mall where Starbucks is (was??) and my car died. Completely died. So we got drenched running into Starbucks, called the cops. A little later, my car started and we moved it to the parking lot. Again (we were soaked).

Now traffic wasn't even moving, there was flooding all over and Dad and Karl were on the way to get Jenny and I home. They finally showed up Karl drove my car (it was making crazy noise) while I road with Dad. We had to go way out of our way to get home and I was so glad we got home!!

Summer of 2000
Yes, you would have thought I would have learned from prior experience but alas, no. My friend Tami and I (we were in beauty school at this time) met at Southridge to ride the shuttle to Summerfest - we were going to see the Red Hot Chili Peppers. We got in line to get into the amphitheater and no sooner did we get in then we hear tornado sirens. So into the women's bathroom we went - talk about hot and sweaty!

Who knows how long we were in there before the all clear was sounded. It was still raining but not too bad. We went to our seats (we were on the metal bleachers) and it rained some more and more and than started lightening. The show was delayed and Tami and I said let's go. We headed back to the shuttle (we did not want to be electrocuted at a Chili Pepper's concert) and the heaven's opened as we ran across the Summerfest grounds. We were drenched, and I mean every piece of clothing on us was soaked.

We got back to Southridge, told each other to call when we got to our respective homes and off we went. I called mom and dad and told them I was headed home. Again, I ran into flooding and the only thing the DJ on the radio kept saying was "Please stay home. Do not go out unless it's an emergency. Please stay off the road." We were in a tornado watch/warning (who knows almost 10 years later) and I drove home. It was awful but I made it home. Tami made it to Racine after a long drive due to the storm and I don't think either of us listened to the Chili Peppers much after that.

So this brings be back to why it didn't bother me to leave work at 3:20 when we were in a tornado warning (even though the tornado had already passed us) and oh yeah, I don't want to die at work.

Really??

I'm sure by now you've all heard that Mr. Favre will be gracing Minnesotans with his presence as the fearless leader of our (Joe's) Minnesota Vikings.

I'm a little irritated with this and Brett has definitely fallen from grace in my eyes. Don't get me wrong, I loved him in the green 'n gold and even in the green 'n white last year. However, I have an issue with how he became purple 'n gold.

Yes, I was not at all thrilled when he "retired" from the Packers to then turn around and sign with the Jets. Was it all Brett's fault? Did the suits in the Packer organization force Brett out? Who knows. But last year's constant will he/won't as far as his retirement was concerned really pissed me off (sorry mom). But hey, he went to the Jets, I cheered and all was well. That is until he "retired" again.

And then the rumors swirled in the Land of 10,000 Lakes (ponds is more like it) that Mr. Favre would wear purple 'n gold. For months that was all anyone talked about until the end of July when it became official, Brett would stay "retired" or at least until training camp was over.

So, for 12 million dollars, we get to put up with Brett for a year until he decides to "retire" at the end of this season. The lines have been drawn and on one side stand Viking fans that say "good riddance" to Brett and on the other side stand Viking fans welcoming their long lost son.

I'm smack dab in the middle. At this point, I could take 'em or leave 'em.

Will I cheer for the Vikings? After being here 6 years, yes, but not because Brett is the QB. I was actually looking forward to watching what Sage could do. That's the guy I feel the worst for.

Will I still be cheering for the Pack? You bet your ass! And on game day when it's Vikings vs. Packers, you bet your ass I'll be cheering green 'n gold all the way.

Oh and to the Viking fans who think I'm "scorned" by Brett's "betrayal," good luck this season. And if by chance the Vikings do make it to the Superbowl and win (because you know that's what the team and fans think will happen), savor it because it won't be the Vikings that win the Superbowl, it will be Brett. And frankly, if the Vikings are going to win a Superbowl, I'd prefer it they win it on their own, without Brett.

Update to Joe hunting

Monday night was Joe's first night of hunter's safety class. Yes, you read correctly. Joe is bound and determined to go hunting with Dad and Luke so let the studying begin! I'll keep you posted on how his "schooling" goes.

National Night Out

A big thanks to Jenny and Ellen for organizing Nokomis Ave's 3rd Annual National Night Out. (There was a third lady who helped but I can't remember her name and I didn't meet her - thanks though!!)

The first time they organized the National Night Out was in August of 2007. We've been invited each year but have never made it. This year I told Joe we were going no matter what. So at 5:30ish we wandered down our block, nervous (because we didn't know anyone) and met our neighbors.

There was a steady stream of people stopping by to introduce themselves and say hi. They made us feel very welcome and we never realized how many kids are on our block! We stayed for a little longer and then decided to walk to the block behind our house. We have two backyard neighbors and Cool Mary had invited us to attend their National Night Out as well.

The minute we set foot on their street Mary was yelling to us how glad she was we showed up. We met Bea (whose driveway the party was in) as well as another backyard neighbor (Tom) and a few more people on their street. Mary took Joe and I around to every single person and personally introduced us. It was quite cute.

Joe ended up telling Bea (who has lived in the neighborhood for 47 years) he was a cook and that he wanted a recipe for her dessert thingys. Well, she came out with a plate full of them and gave them to Joe and announced that "He's a cook and we wants my recipe." It was adorable.

After being in our house for two years, it was nice to hang with both "sets" of neighbors. It was a great getting to know people and the neighborhood definitely feels more "neighborly." Heck, we've already been to a party that Bea throws every year (we were told to mark the calendar for 9/26).

I'm gald we went and I can't wait until next year.

Taste of Minnesota and the fourth

Every year over the fourth of July is the Taste of Minnesota. It's a festival with fair food and cheap concerts. We've gone in the past and saw Sly and the Family Stone, Alice Cooper and Soul Asylum.

This year we went with Chet and Anji to see White Snake and Judas Priest. Yikes is the best I can say about it. Going in, I knew that I would be in for a surprise as I only knew one song by White Snake (I was hoping I would know more but nope, I didn't).

I did a lot of people watching while Anji was jamming out and holy smokes the outfits that were worn by some of the women - Glamour don'ts would have been all over it! If you want specifics, email me!!

Saturday was spent lounging around the house. We went to Sears and looked at freezers and then went to Kowalski's which is a gorgeous upscale grocery store (upscale by my standards) to buy food for lunch. Joe grilled and then we watched Friday the 13th (I had nightmares Sunday night) and Gran Torino.

Then it was over to Ray's to help him (Joe helped him) move some furniture. After that we went to Travis' to watch the fireworks. Travis and his neighbors set them off every year and it was great, although my heart did stop a couple times when it looked like the tree might start on fire.

Sunday Joe had to work a little bit and then it was off to Sears to buy the freezer we looked at on Saturday. We're so excited to have one!! After we got home we (Joe) removed this cabinet thing in the basesment to make room for the freezer but we're still not sure if it will fit in that spot. We might have to find a new one.

After that we watched Milk (yes, it was a weekend of movies) and I loved it!! LOVED IT!! It was the story of Harvey Milk and Sean Penn was amazing - he really is a fabulous actor. It was probably one of the best movies I have seen in a long time. And that was our weekend. Not super exciting but that was fine, we'll have plenty of crazy weekends the end of July (Amy's shower), August (Amy's bachelorette party) and September (Amy and Luke's wedding).bb

One year ago today...

I started this blog with this, this and this post. I can't believe it has already been one whole year - time certainly does fly.

Thanks for reading and here's to year number 2!

1 week...

Until my gorgeous baby sister and my handsome soon to be baby brother come to visit!!!

Amy and Luke at their engagment party

(the hand belongs to Luke's nephew Owen)

Seriously, Joe and I are so excited for them to come and all we've been doing is thinking of what we can do, where to take them etc.


A & L will be coming up Thursday (5/21) evening so once they get to our house, the four of us are going to the 5-8 for dinner. Friday will be Ikea in the morning and then over to the Mall of America so Amy and I can look at shoes for the wedding. Around 3ish we'll hit Hubert's for drinks and munchies before we walk across the street to see the Twins play the Brewers!!


Saturday morning Amy and I are getting up early to get coffee and then head to the Saint Paul Farmer's Market around 6 AM. After that, we have no idea what we'll do for the rest of Saturday or Sunday.


I hope this week goes fast...

This past weekend...

Was probably the busiest since Todd and Anna's wedding in September. To start things off, it was Aunt Mary's birthday on Thursday!! Happy belated birthday!! Love you!

Joe had off on Friday so he did some work tearing down and building shelves for the garage. He also patched some of the foundation where there were big cracks and water was leaking in.

I came home from work and decided to make meatballs for spaghetti. Normally I just make a meat sauce but something made me go through the work of meatballs. It was actually quite therapeutic and they were very tasty.

Saturday morning I cleaned while Joe napped and then went to my friend Abby's jewelry party that she booked from my party! I got to see their house which is adorable and hang out with some friends. Then it was back home by 5 to go to dinner and then the Chris Cornell concert at the Myth in Maplewood.

None of Joe's other friends wanted to go so he decided to take me. April had seen Chris perform a while ago in Vegas at the Hard Rock and said he put on a great show. Well, he put on another great show Saturday night and it was nice to have a "date" with my hubby.

Sunday I cooked and baked and Joe actually made a pork roast! I swung past Anna's in the afternoon to do a jewelry drop and then met Carrie at Caribou (nice little tongue twister) for a jewelry/beauticontrol swap. Carrie just started as a BeautiControl consultant so I am having a pampering party on May 8th. If you're free, come on over - it starts at 7 pm. I love, love, love their products and can't say enough good things about them. I just hope that none of my other friends start selling anything for a while. I need a break!

Here is Carrie's website in case you want to order, and if you want to book or throw your own party, let me know and I'll give you her contact info as well.

Also, the best news of the weekend - the garage no longer leaks (it rained on Sunday)!! The roof didn't leak and neither did the foundation! Way to go honey!!!

Hello? Is there anybody out there?

No, no, I am not quoting from a Pink Floyd song I'm just wondering if you gave up on me as I do realize that I have not posted in over a month

What have I been doing? Working 40 hrs for the past 4 weeks. Starting this week, it is back to 30 hrs at work. You see, I got a little too adjusted to working 30 hrs and trying to cook, clean, blog, hit the gym, etc got a little difficult on 40 hrs. I know, I know - quit whining but I seriously don't know how people with children do it.

Anyway, what have we been up too? Well lets start with March...

I bought 4 tickets to see the Twins vs the Brew Crew when single game tickets went on sale on March 7th. Joe and I are treating Amy and Luke to a game when they come visit in May. May the best team win!!

March 14th my friend April (she just started selling jewelry) had a jewelry party and there was a ton of stuff I wanted, so I decided I would have a party (more on that later). Joe had poker with the boys that night so Anna and I met up bought like 5 or 6 pairs of shoes between the two of us. We got ridiculous deals and couldn't pass 'em up!!

The next weekend, it was my friend Linda's birthday so I took her to the Little Oven for lunch. It was fantastic!!

Oh yeah - the best part of March - the weekend before the poker night, Joe and I were at Travis' and he (Joe) had quite the fun time. Needless to say, he didn't drink at the poker party and I think this past weekend was the first time he had a beer. You'll have to ask him the story if you want to know anymore.

So that brings us to the first part of April...

April 4th (the day after Aunt Lori's b-day!! Happy belated birthday! Wish we could have made the surprise party!!) was my jewelry party. It was fantastic and I got 9 pieces for free!!! It is totally worth having one!! If any of the MN readers want April's info, let me know.

After the party, Anna and I shopped again and then had a Bond movie night with some beers. We watched Casino Royal and Quantum of Solace (and then the first 1/2 of Shrek because it was on TBS)

April 8th it was off to Elk River that evening for my friend Carrie's (her birthday was April 1st!! Happy belated birthday Carrie!!) jewelry party. April and I were invited early for dinner with Carrie and her boys (Kaden -5, Kael - 3, and hubby Keith). The boys were so excited to see April and I and the highlight of dinner was when Kaden said, "My mom, she's not a smart one" and we all laughed (except for Carrie) and no, April and I will never let her forget that her son said that...EVER!

The next weekend was Easter and I had Good Friday off, which was also, drum roll please, my Mom's birthday!!! Happy belated birthday Mom!!

Saturday, Joe spent all day on the roof of the garage fixing the hole from last year. I raked the front yard and then moved to the backyard to clean up the shingles that Joe threw off the roof. I was his gopher and would climb things up the ladder to him. I also sat out on the deck and read a whole book because I was afraid to leave him alone for fear he would fall off the roof. The roof looked good but the test will be once it rains.

Easter Sunday we went to his Grandma and Grandpa's and hung out with Tony, Gram and Gramps and his mom. It was good to see everyone and we were sent home with yummy food his gram cooked! Love her!!

And that brings us up to date...I will be blogging more but the last thing I've been wanting to do is to come home and sit in front of the computer since I do that all day at work. Now that I have had by blogging vacation - watch out!