the power of POWER prayer?

The power will be back on for Angela & family sometime tomorrow! Thank you so much to all who generously donated or said prayers for provision! They were also fortunate to qualify for and receive (they are in short supply) a $500 grant for low-income families to help with the bill. Tomorrow the fridge, lights, and stove will be back on over on Edgerton Avenue in East Saint Paul. Amen!

Things to worry about: an organized approach to anxiety.

If you think I have an anxiety disorder, you might be right. But I like it because it keeps me motivated. It's a week of big things happening, not to me exactly, but to people I care about. I thought it might be useful to make an organized list so I can worry straight down the list, not forgetting a single ulcer causing concern. Admit it, this IS a good idea!

Worry List

1. My Unlce Knob has more tests and appointments this week, specifically a biopsy (how do they biopsy your pancreas...I should Google that). He does have an oncologist appointment at the U of M next week with Dr. Greeno (the U of M saved my mom's life several times over so I insisted he go there).
2. My friend Angela and her family are without power because they have been unable to pay their Xcel bill. That means no lights, fridge, stove or television. No television? Inhumane!
3. Dare I say it? Virus H1N1
4. Not that this is anything I need to worry about NOW but I recently found out that the wait times and costs for domestic adoption are doubling because international adoption is becoming almost impossible. So, when/if we want to adopt again, we should be planning waaaaay ahead.
5. Phil's last day in CCE...who will be my new work BFF?

On the flip side, real concerns put trivial things into perspective so there are tons of things I am not worrying about...

Non-Worry List

1. Screwing up at Commencement and leading the students down the wrong aisle.
2. Kind of burrito bowl I will order when we go to Chipotle with my dad tonight.
3. What I am going to do on Monday, my belated day off?
4. How The Hills is going to go on without LC?
5. Why boys have to wear red to Lo Lo's birthday party?

Card shower for Uncle Knob!

Okay, I know you don't really know him but would you be a hot babe and send my uncle a funny or encouraging card? He was just diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and is waiting to find an oncologist and learn of his treatment. This is one of the HARDEST parts of the whole ordeal because he has no idea what is store for him and he can only worry. He has a great sense of humor so nothing is too weird for him. Let me tell you a bit about him so you know where to start...

1. He often sings the following phrase "I'm a neeeaat guuuyyyy!"
2. He loves beer!
3. Used to work as a butcher (at Midtown), for many years for Keebler doing snack deliveries and now as a bread deliveryman
4. He married later in life to his wife, Dana, only 12 or so years ago.
5. Once ran for city council... and lost!
6. Used to give us $20 for Christmas. Only catch is it was frozen in ice, or covered in melted wax or drilled into a cement brick and filled in with wax
7. A Republican!! Every holiday season he sends my Grandma Sylvia (a Democrat) a new photo of herself Photoshopped in with George W. Bush. Oh, then he mails it out to everyone she knows and puts her return address on it!

Mail to:
Richard Palbicki
7264 Joplin Avenue South
Cottage Grove, MN 55016

Thanks hot babes!

Welcome Sophia Mae!

Another April 24th birthday! Chelsy & Nick and sister Olivia welcomed baby Sophia Mae yesterday! She was born on 4/24/09 at 12:25 p.m. weighing 7 lbs 14 oz and was 20 1/2 inches long. Chels said the labor was super easy, only 3 pushes. Big sister Olivia is "not fond" of the new baby and wants her mom to "put her back in her box ". The newest Newman should be heading home from the hospital tomorrow! God is good!

So proud of my new son!

That's my boy!

New addition and Philosophy 101

Guess what? We have a new addition to our family! It's a boy we named Dyson and he weighs like 15 lbs or so but he failed his APGAR test.

Baby Dyson's first day home

Liam turned 1 and today he had a rocking birthday party. The theme was eating food so we made sure to participate. Pat made a fruit pizza that was delightful...I found out the crust was made of sugar cookie dough. Oh yeah! Kids played, presents we opened, and Tonka drooled.

Seems to like the cake...

Jake is off to Rochester to see his family and work out the details of his grandparents estate planning for their cabin on Rock Lake. Hopefully they will figure it out so Nori and her kids can use it someday (but hopefully not like when she is 16). Her & I are going to party like it's 1993!

Doing the splits!

Do any of us ever have enough time? Enough time to do all we need without putting our own needs last? Or enough time with the people we love? This is something Jake & I struggle with constantly as there are always more people to see, rooms to clean, errands to run than there is cuddle time and sleep time. Some day I hope we can figure out how to balance it all and not constantly be feeling overwhelmed and shortchanged by all the demands in life. Given the recent deaths and illnesses in our families, we are reminded of how precious life is (Nori makes that really easy). We are good at some things, like actually taking those trips we plan but really bad at others, like relaxing or carving out enough us time in between those trips. I wish we could work less and play more!

Happy Birthday Dad, MJ and Liam!

Bill, age 57

Mekensie, age 8

Liam, age 1

my uncle Rick (aka Uncle Knob)

We received some terrible news today. My dad's brother, Rick, was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. We were just with him at Easter and he was telling us terrible he felt and how he was pushing his doctor to give him more tests and was not sure what was wrong with him. Of course we never thought it would be this. Rick is only around 50 and a young grandfather of 3. You might remember their older brother, Jim, just died in January of a stroke. Needless to say Rick & Dana, my dad, Grandma Sylvia and everyone else is very saddened and scared. Please pray for the all the Palbicki's for strength, peace, and healing.

Phil's Party

Phil's party was the most touching yet simultaneously fun retirement party ever. No one from my work knows about my blog so I won't go into details but some of my loyal readers (Steve, BS girls, Mom) know Phil, so this is for you. Goldy led us all in the Minnesota Rouser, there we dozens of moving comments about how wonderful and caring Phil is, lots of tears, presents, Phil trivia and even some cake.

Warning!

My husband is on Day 7 of making Amish Friendship Bread so watch out for a Ziploc baggie of goo appearing on your countertop very soon.

Today is my work BBF Phil's big Retirement Party! As work BFF, I chaired the party planning committee so this morning I had the honor of picking up Goldy the Gopher's pelt and head... I didn't dare smell it though. Phil is a huge U of M athletic supporter (ha ha) so we have many silly surprises in store for him today.

Finally, I am so sad about little Stellan's journey. I remember how agonizing and hopeless it felt when my mom would never get better and stayed in the hospital month after month. This has to be worse because he is just a baby and his mom has three other kids at home she is away from. Please pray for them!

Well, baby...

Norelle sang to me the whole way to her her 15 month check-up today. It went something like this:
"mamamama...bababababa...geegeegeegee" in the sweetest little baby soprano you have ever heard.

Here are her stats...
Weight: 21lb 10 oz = 31% (can you believe she weighs exactly 100 lbs less than me? Ahem.)
Height: 29.5 = 22% (inherited the Hengel long leg genes)
Head: 46cm = 54% (Jake's brain plus mine averages 54%)

The doctor was thrilled and amazed at her stunning vocabulary and said she had never seen such a bright child in all the medical literature. Then, she diagnosed her with Chronic Adorableness. I did ask about her cute little underbite to which the doctor insisted that underbites are underrated and Nori will bring it back in style! Okay, she actually referred us to a pediatric dentist and said depending on the core issues, she may need some retainers and braces down the road but then insisted that Nori will surely become the newest international spokessupermodel for pediatric orthodontia and get free treatment for life.

Call me Meaghan Stein!

I received an odd thank you note today addressed to Meaghan Stein. It was from a woman we interviewed for an advising position in our unit. Actually, I have emailed with her many times about students we have in common so she has surely seen my name spelled the real way. I think it is really funny but I know some people would be insulted and write this person off for the job (not like I would or have that kind of power). My question is: how big of a faux pas is this? What Would Andy Ho Do in the corporate world? Andy?

Recap & a recipe

This has to be quick, I am about to go watch the final two episodes ever of 6 Feet Under. I think we got through all five seasons in two months or so. Hey, don't make fun of me, you are the one reading this blog voluntarily.

My mom was here so on Thursday night we drove over to UW-River Falls with my Aunt Jill to see Casey's Percussion Ensemble concert...it was awesome and he had some great solos! But, we all agreed the new music number sounded like the inside of rusty engine. Don't worry, he doesn't read my blog, he has a life.

Nori cries giving Charlie Brown yet another reason to be depressed

Friday was off to another campus, U of M, for Holly's CT scan & oncologist appointment. Drum roll please (Casey?) her cancer is still gone, 6 years of remission = cure. Now her adhesions are still there and may give her some trouble but we talked about symptoms of a small bowel obstruction and what to do in case of one. Gramsie babysat while Jake & I took a bike ride in the awesome weather.

Harley has been dethroned and he knows it

On Saturday I got my hair chopped and Jake started his tennis tour, first playing here and then watching the Luther team in Northfield so we had a Girls Day Out...Cafe Latte, Grand Avenue shops and Red Balloon Bookstore. That night we all went over to Tracy's to meet Abby's new boyfriend, Cogsworth. Truly, he is the clock to her Belle in Beauty and the Beast.

dysFUNction

Other stuff happened too but that's all I can think of right now. Quote of the day by Jake Seltz: "Don't come in here to try to be a hero and chop up the bacon" (what he yelled at me when he was making a breakfast for Nori.) And here is what I made for dinner tonight, it is yumtastic...

Southwestern Quinoa Salad

1 cup quinoa
1.5 cups water
1/3 tsp salt
15 oz can of black beans, rinsed
1 avocado, cubed
1 red peeper, chopped
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1 clove garlic, minced
1/3 red onion, finely chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon cumin

Combine quinoa, salt and water. Bring to boil, then simmer for 15-20 minutes. Chop & measure all other ingredients and put in big mixing bowl and mix in warm quinoa.

Freakonomics Baby Name Predictions, 2015

The table below (link) shows the 23 boys’ names and 23 girls’ names which the authors of the book “Freakonomics,” Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner, predict will be the most popular baby names of 2015. This table shows the popularity ranking of the names for each year, based on data from the U.S. Social Security Administration.

Click here: http://www.babynamesgarden.com/freakonomicspredictions.aspx

Pray for little Stellan!

Today Stellan is being transferred to Boston where he will undergo an a risky heart ablation surgery to fix his SVT. I have no idea what any of that means but it is serious and there is a very scared family praying all goes well for their baby boy. I didn't know this but it turns out this is a local family from Mound, MN with a huge international following of concerned people. Click on photo to read his mom's blog...

Happy Easter!

He is Risen!

The thrill of finally finding Easter shoes made her want to walk!

We had a wonderful day! Jake made breakfast before we headed to church and then back home for an Easter egg hunt. Later we joined Papa, Nana & Co. over at Uncle Knob's house in Cottage Grove for a huge lunch. Gotta love the warm weather, spring is here...

Cashed after a no-nap day...

Great Friday (an eggcelent day)!

Why can't EVERY day be just like today? With the exception of the fact that we are having guacamole and brownies ( the only two foods we always have on hand) for supper, it was perfect!

Nori & I did some quick shoe shopping this morning and found a cute pair for summer but still no Easter shoes anywhere in her size. I think she is too old to pull off the barefoot baby routine especially now that she is finally taking more steps on her own. After that Angie Mc suggested a sunny picnic at the park and all the moms (and babies) had fun. Missy & I reminisced about all the hoops we played in her driveway. We are just gearing up for Fun Fridays this summer in her pool. The husbands will get off work early to take care of the kids and make boat drinks while we work on our tans. Truly, why get your own pool with all the hassles when you can just use the Hos'...I am positive they would not mind a bit if you & your posse came over, too.

Tonight we played outside and then colored Easter eggs! It was very fun although next year I will remember to hard boil them first. Norelle made sure Daddy's egg has decals on it that say "princess" and "sweet". Jake did remember to make an egg for Dorothy but says he ran out of space so that is why he eliminated an "O" from her name. Hmmm...

Good Friday

Happy moments, praise God
Difficult moments, seek God
Quiet moments, worship God
Painful moments, trust God
Every moment, thank God

It's my Friday!

My application for the site visit in New Zealand is now in!

Sick day!

Napping with her babies

In our neighborhood...

Searchers are out in full force handing out fliers and talking to residents about the missing St. Thomas student, Daniel Zamlen.There are five of them sitting on the wall in our front yard right now. Please pray that Daniel is found safe. I hope's it's not related to the controversial so-called smiley face killer that is theorized by some ex-cops to be connected with the murder of Chris Jenkins at the U of M and up to 40 other college-aged men. Maybe I have seen too many episodes of Dexter...

Passion.Ate

As in what we did this morning - listened to the Passion while Nori ate Cheerios off the pew. Never have I seen such a good girl in church, she loves making new friends by playing 'pass the baby doll' with strangers. Sometimes I look at her realizing how beautiful she is and how lucky I am that she is all mine...to smother! My new favorite thing is her little wispy baby hairs that are too short to go up in her ponytail so they just stick out onto her forehead. So cute.

Relaxing weekend full of food, friends, shopping for me (BTB, if you find any cute non-undershirt short-sleeve onesies in 18 month size, let me know) and a trip to Austin, MN for Jake & his daughter to see her grandparents & great grandparents!

Sometimes people say to me "How DO you do it all?". Actually, they really say is "Why DO you share all the mundane details?" but I hear it as "How DO you do it all?". "Simple" I answer, "I'm not normal". Papa, that one is for you...

Finally, I am bummed that my mom's adhesions are troubling her again. Do you remember that awesome (warning: SUPER GROSS photos follow) bowel obstruction and lysis surgery of 2007? It SUCKS that she has so much chronic abdominal and back pain that prevent her from being the young buck she wants to be. Here's her old crappy website I made in 2002 from scratch using HTML code! I love you, Mom!

More BS

Oh my, I am TIRED today! I have been working very hard on my site visit application, consulting with those Henry Adams-quoting colleagues and doing my homework to make the best case possible as to why they should select little old me! For many years I had the freedom to travel, but I didn't have feet that would cooperate. Figures that now I have the sweetest baby ever (who was SO angry that I wouldn't let her sleep with a wooden spoon - she already had a stacking cup, her Curious George stuffie and a bunny blanket), I may have opportunities to travel. Baby's first trip to New Zealand?!

As you surely know, Britney Spears will be in town this weekend for her Circus tour. No, I am not going. I am not even allowed to buy the CD! But, I am wondering what the odds are of bumping into her? Like at MOA or the strip club. You know, she is dating her back-up dancer right? He's 21 but mature for his age. I have been told not talk about my fondness for BS because it is "embarrassing". So, just pretend you didn't read this.