YUM!

I don't really like to cook.  I love, love, love to bake though.  On Facebook I randomly see photos of food that people cook (or from restraunts) and today I decided to take a photo of the dinner that I cooked on Memorial Day!  I have to say, it was pretty good!  Found a recipe for the ribs on line and just boiled the corn.  Cooking corn is sort of tricky - cook it too mcuh and it gets soggy/sticky-to-your-teeth and don't cook it enough, it just is not good.  Today I got lucky and the corn was delicious!

The bonfire that never was!

It seemed like such a nice night for a bonfire - maybe a little warm but the kids wanted smores so Dave decided to start a bonfire.  Last year we had 2 large oaks cut down in our backyard.  We saved almost all of the "good" bonfire wood but it has not been quite the "good stuff" that we thought it would be by now.  Dave has tried a few times, and unfortunately with all the rain, it just was too wet and all the wood would do is smoke.  Not make the good fires that we had hoped for.

We got all the stuff out to make smores and Dave was finally getting the fire really going.  Out of nowhere, it totally got SUPER WINDY!  Seriously, it was just a little breezy then all of the sudden it was just WINDY.  Ash was blowing out of the bonfire pit and into our faces! 

Now, those of you that know us, know that Dawson has had a major problem in the past few summers with WIND.  During one storm 2 summers ago, it became so windy, Dawson got so scared and now when it is windy, he really worries that things will blow away.  It has gotten better - I have consistently told him that most of the time, the wind is just there to make the trees dance.  God sees that they are getting bored just standing there, so he makes the wind so that the trees can dance!  :)  Works most of the time except for on days like this.

So, in the house we headed for indoor smores in the microwave...not as good but they will do the trick for tonight!

And, when it really started to storm, Dave thought I was CRAZY for heading out with some bungee cords for our canopy on our deck.  As it was pouring rain, crazy wind blowing... the little pea size hails started hitting my toes!  Dave came out to help bungee the canopy down just in time - I swear, it almost blew off the deck!  Not good!  Anyway, here is the damage to our less than 3 week old canopy.  :(  Nothing but problems from this canopy since we bought - guess that is what happens when EVERYTHING is made in China!  I still think that we should return this thing - they say it should not rust!

Growing BIG...SO fast!

Entering this post on 6/5 actually, but cannot believe just how big baby Robin's GROW!  This photo was taken on 5/27 - they were starting to get so impatient for mom and dad to feed them!  I could not get too close or I might get "dive-bombed" by the parents...but my camera actually did get some great photos of them feeding.  Yay for digital zoom! 
The kids love seeing the birds.  I am so thankful that Dave did not knock down the nest when it was first being built.  It has been such a fun thing for the kids (and me!) to watch!

How fast they grow!

It was not too long ago that I posted the photo of the baby birds!  Carter and I took a peek at them and I cannot believe how much they have grown already, in like a week or so!  The kids love looking at them.  The mom and dad Robin are not so keen on it - they will swoop down on you.  They come within about a foot of you.  It is quite intimidating for them being so small!  I am not sure how many are in there - I cannot tell if that last egg acutally hatched or if the babies are just covering it up!  When the mom or dad comes over to feed them you can actually see their little beaks (just over the top of the nest) opening up and waiting for some food!  I love seeing this!  It is making a little bit of a mess in our rocks, and I am sure that it will get worse, but being able to actually see them is so much fun!

This is the dad Robin (he is way more red than the female and that is how you tell them apart), he would not move until I was literally a few feet from the nest...and I had to hit the siding away a little to get him to fly away!

Welcome to Crazy-time!

We had the girls party on Sunday!  They will only know shared parties, at least until they are old enough to have "friend" parties.  I still enjoy having the family parties... it does get a little crazy but the kids have so much fun with the cousins!

It was a Tinkerbell theme.  Kendall loves her (I guess I do too!) so we got some Tink napkins, some Tink and Fairy friend figurines to put on our cake (yummy Grandma's Bakery cake), some purple plates, and had lots of yummy food - burgers & hotdogs on the grill (thanks Honey for grilling!), potato salad, pasta salad, snicker salad (guess there were a lot of SALADS!), fruit, "mexican" caviar, chips, and of course cake & cookie cake & ice cream!

The girls always score a lot of adorable clothes on their birthday!  I wish I had such cute clothes!  The cute dresses, the cute summer outfits, the BOLD & BRIGHT colors out there this year (line green, hot pink, turquoise!), the fun matching outfits.  They also will add to their cute outfits some adorable accessories - hats & sunglasses!  They also got a dollhouse, some Barbie Dolls, bubbles, some stuffed animals, water shoes (very important for the upcoming summer events), books, Kendall got a Leapster and a few games and Reese got a pink and purple trike that has a "parent handle" so that I can push her while the other kids are riding and lots of other fun things!

• Kendall was cracking me up because every time she opened a gift she SCREAMED "mommy, mommy, look!  I got a..." and she would continue to scream my name until I looked at her and acknowledged what she got.  You can tell that by the photos below.  Also, when daddy brought up the dollhouse from Nana and Pop-pop, she had like a blank look on her face - it was not quite the reaction I thought there would be!
• Reese was excited to open gifts, but I have to say that I think the first gift she opened was the "FAV" a dolly that has a rolling backpack that you can put her in!  She was too obessed with that one to want to go on more...although she did eventally open the rest. 

It is a challenge to make sure that we know who got what and from whom.  Auntie Jamie wrote it down for us - last year I had a typed a sheet with the guests name on them already (one for Reese's gifts and one for Kendall's gifts, that worked ok) but this year I decided that each girl opening the present from the same person was the way to go!  And since neither of them can read yet, Carter helped Reese and Teagan helped Kendall.  That way I could still take photos!

Thanks to everyone for making the girls party a success!  Next year I think we might do a BIG party for the girls and share it with Boston and Cooper (my brother's boys) who both have April birthday!  Now that will be CRAZY but I would not have it any other way!  Love you Kendall and Reese!

Kendall's Early Childhood Screening

Oh, how I wish I would have had a video camera with me for Kendall's early childhood screening today.  She is such a talkative girl and yesterday proved that even more.  Linda was our screener and I think that everytime she asked Kendall a question Kendall would just keep on talking and make comments about what she was asked to do.  And, she just could not sit still while being asked these questions.  Very unlike both the boys when they had their screenings - they were both pretty serious and just did what they were asked.
One example of this was when Linda asked Kendall to listen to the words she was going to say and pick the one that started with the sound of one word.  This particular one happened to be "soap" and Kendall just kept saying "well, there are bubbles on it." 

•        Linda encouraged her and said "yes, there are bubbles but we are going to call it soap for now."
• Kendall again said, "but look it has bubbles on it!"
• LInda proceed to point to the soap, then say three other words: soap, horse; soap, bird; soap, star...
• Kendall did not hesitate and pointed to the bird...
• Linda proceeded to say, maybe she was just stuck on bubbles and then yes, bird would match, but soap and star both start with "s"

She did very well, scoring over double the minimum score for 4 year olds.  How ironic it was when she did not know where her ankle was (that was the only thing that Carter missed on his screening)!  I was practicing it with her, but I guess she forgot.  I also had practiced that with Dawson, and he remembered!

Ed

Today Ed passed away.  He was 90 years old and died from complications due to Alzheimers disease which he had been struggling with for at least the past 3-4 years.  He had lived in nursing homes for about the last 1.5 years, first at one in Roseville and most recently for about the last 3 months, Lyngblomsten right down the block from where I grew up.

Ed was my grandmother's husband.  Married to my Dad's mom.  He was the only grandfather that I knew on my dad's side as my dad's dad passed away at an early age of a heart attack - he was only in his early fourties!  Way too young! 

I found out that Ed and my grandmother were married in VEGAS, about 35 years ago!  The went on a trip with a group of others and Ed gave grandma an ultimatium, marry him in Vegas or he would go home and find someone else to marry him (Ed was also widowed at an early age when his wife passed away of cancer).  So, grandma agreed and they were married!

I hate to say it, but I unfortunately don't remember a whole lot of growing up with Ed.  It is sad, I guess that is why I am keeping this blog now.  I am sure that if someone said something to me, I would possibly remember that event!  I know that Ed was always there!  I do know that Ed was a bricklayer for most of his life and he was very proud of that!  I know that he LOVED the Chinese Buffet off of Lexington and Larpenteur and he would make Grandma take him there on Mondays when they were out "thrift store shopping!"  I know that when we had Reese, Ed would give me a hard time and ask me just how many kids I had now!

I am sad when I look at my photos and I cannot find one of him.  NOT ONE.  I see his leg in one.  I am sure that tucked away somewhere in my archive of "paper" photos, there has got to be ONE.  ONE... that is not that much to ask, is it!? (found one!

Ed will be missed although I have to admit that I don't think that I have seen him for at least 1.5 years.  That I will regret.  Even though he may not have known who I was, I would have known who he was.  I did the same thing when my other grandfather died, just a few weeks shy of my HS graduation.  He had been ill for quite some time and when my mom would go visit him, I would ALWAYS volunteer to watch my younger siblings.  I know at the time, being not quite 18, I did not want to see him suffering.  I wanted to remember him in the good times, in the healthy times.

We will always live with regrets, but I think the one thing that we have to remember is there are some regrets that will change the way we go about in the future.  We can change that.  I can change things going forward so I can look back and know that I have at least ONE photo of someone.

You will be missed, Ed.

Baby Birds!

I figured a few days ago that there were baby birds, but the momma and daddy bird are pretty protective of the nest and they will swoop down at you if you go close.  They kept sitting on the side of the nest and looking in.  It did not look like they were always feeding them, just looking at them.  Last night though, I went in to see if I could see anything.  Here is what I saw!  They are not the best photos, but they are on a ledge underneath the house so there is only about 10-12 inches to stick the camera (and your head) under plus the nest is probably 4-5 inches tall.  Not a lot of clearance to try and get photos!  Good thing my camera is not too big!

Carter said to me this morning, "mom they really are not that cute."  Well, I guess that they are not the cutest but soon they will be so cute!  I still am amazed that these little things can survive outdoors - they are so bald.  I will have to try and take a few more photos in a few days - maybe that last egg will hatch and the others will be a little bigger?

Happy 4th Birthday Kendall!

Today is Kendall's 4th birthday!  Like with Reese, I remember the day that I had her also!  Of course, it was during Carter's baseball season - a night that he had a game.  I had gone to the doctor that day and started to have contractions afterwards.  I was starting to get a little uncomfortable at his game - I did not want to sit, but I did not want to stand.  So, I remember walking around trying to watch the game!  After the game, we went home, got the boys to bed and Dave headed downstairs to watch a little TV and have a few cocktails!  :)  I watched a movie and paid attention to my contractions.  About 10:30-ish I went downstairs to find Dave asleep on the couch!  Proceeded to wake him up and tell him that I thought we should get ready to head to the hospital (St. Johns in Maplewood).  He was like "seriously, I had a few drinks!?"  I said, well, I guess I can drive us!  Ha!  Got the boys out of bed, Auntie Jen met us at St. Johns to take the boys and we got checked in. 
I wanted Nubain again (I have always been fearful of the epidurals, needles into my spine do not sound very fun...well, neither is labor, but no needles in my back!) but I argued with the nurse who was going to get me set up on a IV.  Told her I had only ever had a shot of it and no IV's.  She went to talk with someone else and by the time she came back, it was too late!  They quick had to call the doctor and get an extra nurse in the room.  Dave got a little nervous, the nurse assured him that she had actually delivered quite a few babies if the doctor did not make it there.  They ended up getting 2 resident doctors to come in (one was Dr. Reese...which I later told Dave should be an option for the babies name!) and Dr. Reese was technically the one that delivered Kendall!  The other doctor walked in right as Kendall was born and I remember him saying that he got ready as fast as he could and that it only took him like a 1/2 hour!  Guess it was a 1/2 hour too long!
Kendall was our biggest baby - 7 lbs 14 ozs and she was 21 in long!  She was born at 1AM! 
Today she is a VERY spirited little girl!  She loves her brothers and sister, she loves playing outstide, she loves Dora and princesses, she loves to wear matching outfits with Reese, she is probably one of our pickiest eaters (she would have PBJ everyday), she has her momma's sweettooth, she still sucks her thumb although she told the dentist 2 weeks ago that she would be done by her 4th birthday!
Happy birthday Kendall!

Kendall, right after she was born!  One of her first photos!

Kendall, 5/20/2012 at the girls party!

Happy Birthday to our "baby" Reese!

I cannot believe that TWO years has past since I had Reese!  I remember this day so clearly - after one false alarm and a trip to the hospital on May 10th 2010 I was ready to have this little girl.  My due date was technically the 18th of May and since all the other kids were at least a week early that is what I expected with her too!  After a trip to the doctor that Monday, my doctor was set to induce me on the 22nd at St. Johns Hospital birght and early in the morning!
Reese had other plans.  The morning of the 21st I told Dave, you are not going to work today - since he is working in Princeton I thought a 45 minute drive was too far out of my comfort zone to be at home with the other kids!  He came up about 11 and was wondering what was going on "I guess that I could have gone to work today!" is really what he said.  I was having contractions but they were still far enough apart where I did not think we needed to go to the hospital yet.  About 45 minutes later after I fed the kids lunch, my contractions all of the sudden were only 5 minutes apart.  We made a quick call to Nana at work and hit the road  Nana met us at St. Johns, took Dawson and Kendall in our car and we were checked into a room by 1PM!
We were in the room and Dave needed to make a call quick to our real estate agent who was to be coming to the house that day to take pictures of the house and get it on the market!  Paul was laughing when he found out Dave was on the phone with him when I was in labor!  Especially since I was already at 8CM!  I told the nurses that if my water broke, they better have the doctor here quick.  So they called Dr. Less (who was in Eagan that day) and he headed up to St. Johns.  I got my nubain shot and quickly relaxed!  Love that stuff!  The nurses told me I was the happiest 8 they had ever seen!  But, then they told me I needed to move a little to get the labor done with - I told them I was just fine the way I was! 
Reese was born at 3PM, just 2 short hours after we got to St. Johns.  I am sure that if I would not have had the nubain, it would have been even earlier!  She was 7lbs, 4ozs and 20 inches long!  And, HEALTHY! 
We are so blessed.  She has been a good kid, though like the others she did not sleept through the night until she was about 9 months old!  Stinker!  She makes the silliest faces, she loves to cuddle, she loves her pink blankie, she loves her nee-nee (nuk - how are we going to get rid of those things!?),she loves her musical seahorse that she sleeps with EVERY day, she loves dollies, she loves playing in the little kitchen, she LOVES, LOVES, LOVES cheese!  We love you REESEY!

Reese's first photo!

Reese 5/20/2012 @ 2 years old!

Belated Anniversary!

I cannot believe that I forgot to put on here - "Happy FIRST Anniversary to my sister Jen and her huby Joe!"  They celebrated their first anniversary in style in NEW YORK!  I wished them a happy anniversary via text and facebook but neglected to post it on here!  :(  Their wedding was a blast at the Varsity Theater in Minneapolis.  The kids had a blast dancing (so did Jen and Joe along with the rest of their wedding peeps! 

Goslings and more nature in the Coleman Yard!

While I really don't care to have geese in our backyard, who can resist these little cuties!?  I love our pond!

Last year there was a "bird" in the pond.  I am pretty sure that it was a merganser - had never seen one before but thanks to the  in-laws all the kids have MN Bird Books.  I am pretty sure that "bird" was in the pond again the other day!  This is the only photo that I was able to snap prior to it taking off!

First frog of the season.  They just love the water table.  They must crawl up the center (where the umbrella goes) and get into the table that way.  Guessing that it is nice and cool in the shade and there is generally water in there during the summer!  Reese actually saw the frog on the table and grabbed it - once it sort of moved in her hand, she freaked out and did not want to go near it.  Ha!  There was one summer, probably about 5 years ago where we had so many frogs in the neighborhood.  I did not even want to mow the lawn - too many injured (or worse) frogs in the yard after I was done mowing! 

Guessing that soon there will be baby Robins in the nest.  The kids were a little worried about the nest the other day because there was an empty egg half in the neighbors driveway.  Carter took a peek (while almost getting attacked by momma Robin!) but there were 4 eggs still neatly tucked away in the nest!

Happy Belated Mom's Day!

Being a mom is such a great job - though it is not always the easiest (you know all those things that are the hard/tough part of being a mom, or a dad for that matter)!  I always knew that I wanted to be a mom some day and I am so blessed that I have 4 kids!  We are so lucky!  I love my kids (and my husband!) so much - I know that some days I forget to tell them just how much I love them. 

Being a mom also has made me so thankful for my mom - for all that she did for me when I was younger and all that she does for me now.  She has been a wonderful mom and I love to spend time with her - whether with my kids or without them!  I hope she knows just how much she means to me!  I love you mom!

I also am very lucky to have married a man that has a wonderful mom as well!  She has been a wonderful mother-in-law and is always so supportive of us and there for us when we needed her (and my father-in-law too, but more about him at Father's day!).  I have always been able to count on her! love you, Joanne!

Like I said, I am always very bad about taking photos of the adults!  I really thought that on Mom's Day I would remember to gather up our kids and take a photo with them...guess what, no photo!  :(

My mom and I!  Gotta love self-portraits!

Pretty sure that the last photo that my mother-in-law and I were in together was when Dave & I got married!  Guess there will just have to be one of her after our kids were born!

With Dawson August 15, 2006

With Kendall May 21, 2008

With Reese May 22, 2010

Love Is A Mother’s Gift
When God made mothers, He took great care
To fill their hearts with love so rare.
Their children are their greatest prize;
You can see the great love in your mother’s eyes.
Love, love is a mother’s gift
To their precious children, their hearts to lift.
Warm, tender and giving love
That grows them up healthy and happy.
Thank you, mother for all you give
To help me grow and to help me live.
I will love you forevermore,
My mother, my mom, whom I adore.
Love, love is a mother’s gift
To their precious children, their hearts to lift.
Warm, tender and giving love
That grows us up healthy and happy.
By Joanna Fuchs

Game 3 of the season

Carter's team, the ROX, played their 3rd game of the season last night.  It was such a good game...unfortunately they lost 7-8 in the bottom of the sixth!  He hit a double in his first up-at-bat, it really was one of the best hits I have seen from him.  Too bad the left fielder was quick or it could have been a triple!?  He was super excited about it.  So far his team really seems like they are having a good time.  They are a good group of boys - ranging from 4th grade up to a couple of 6th graders.  They have been playing well - they really work together good as a T.E.A.M (Together. Everyone. Achieves. More.)  Can't wait for those games when it is nice and warm out - kind of tired of getting "cool" at 7PM when the sun starts to set behind the trees.

First DOUBLE of the season!

Changed this one to black & white so that you cannot see the "biffy" so well in the background.  In the color photo that is like all you noticed!  What were they thinking!  Don't they know that moms like me take photos at games.

 

I also really figured it out this year.  In the past I have been rushing to feed the kids and get out the door by as early at 5:15.  The kids just really aren't hungry at that time, since we typically don't eat until 6 or 6:30 and it was so hard to get them to eat at 4:45.  Ah...lightbulb... bring the dinner with to the field (Carter just needs to eat prio to leaving and he is almost 12 so he will eat at any time and be hungry!).  So, 3 little kids get 3 lunchboxes with a sandwich, a SQUEEZE applesauce (why did I not think of that!), fruit snacks & some water.  When they are eating is about the only time that we get to really watch the game, or they are just running around and we are trying to keep an eye on them.  This is really when we could use that extra set of eyes on the back of our head (yes, while I try to convience the kids that I really do have them, you know they really aren't there).  That way we could watch the games and them!

First there were 2...now 4!

Took a peek into the nest today...mom was not happy as she sat up on the neighbors roof and CHIRPED!  There are FOUR eggs now.  Wonder when they will hatch - don't think Robins have too long of incubations!

Someday I will have a better camera, too, but the "super" moon a few nights ago was BEAUTIFUL!  It was peeking through the tree in the yard and reflecting in the pond!  Too bad I did not capture it quite how it was.

Saturday Night Wine!

My sister, Jen, started a fun tradition for birthdays!  Instead of a gift, it is a "night out."  She took Dave and I to Brave New Workshop (along with all the other sibs for their birthdays!).  IT was SUPER fun, so I decided for Jen's birthday to buy her a Living Social Deal to go to Stillwater and do some tasting at the Nothern Vineyards Winery.  We were supposed to go last weekend, but then Carter's 1st baseball game was rescheduled for later in the day (guilty mom syndrome if I did not go to his first game of the season).  Luck would have it, that it was the day that it was rainy/sleety and they cancelled the game - go figure! 
I brought my camera with, and again, forgot to take photos at the winery but here is what I got!
It was a fun night (the winery was fine, but the wine was not my absolute favorite...hard to beat a Moscato or a Riesling in my book!).  But the company was GREAT and there were lots of laughs to be had.

I guess that this will be one of the next outings, maybe without the hubbies - not sure they would have a BLAST shopping at FUN SISTERS!