Happy Halloween!

so much for my plan

If they can't make it, who can?

PanCAN, can you?

1st play date in the playroom

It's officially fall, I made my first soup: Chicken and Dumplings. Ever since I got pregnant last year, I have not had any interest in cooking so this is a big milestone. BTB, I have lost 6 pounds on Weight Watcher's in 3 weeks and it has been fairly easy - thank you nursing points! I am not a joiner and Lord knows I am not a spender, so I didn't actually register for WW rather I just found out how to do it from my coworkers and use a free online database to keep track of points. If you want to hack in too, do it here. First one to lose the muffin top wins. People without muffin tops are not eligible.

Jake & I had a real date Friday night at Barrio Saint Paul which has the best salsa verde. The new rule is that we must have one real date per month. And a real date must consist of a shower and leaving the house. Regular pajama clad couch dates still welcome.

Yesterday my dad & I spent the day at Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (PanCAN) Symposia downtown Minneapolis. It was such a wonderful education and networking event for patients and families. We listened to internationally renown specialists talk about chemo regimens, genetics, diagnostic screening, and new research & drugs (there is a drug in Phase I trials at the U of M that cures pancreatic cancer in rats). There were some really sad parts because we met several people who will die from the disease as anyone who can not have surgery has no chance at cure. But, we also met some amazing survivors who are living for years with or have beaten the disease. If you read much online, these types of stories are hard to come by. It reminded how fortunate my dad was to be diagnosed so early and made us think of Uncle Rick who only lived 6 miserable weeks after diagnosis.The weirdest part of the entire day was went one researcher talked about the Familial Pancreatic Cancer gene which is called PALB2. Say what now? Praying the gene is not responsible for both the beak and tumor! Thanks to Holly, Casey & Jamie for babysitting while I learned about how I might die and Jake dressed as a "cool vampire" and biked across down with beer in his backpack to the Gopher's football game. Not sure what made it cool, the black sweatpants or the skin tight metallic shirt?

Only one more day until the pumpkin sees his shadow, stay tuned for some Halloween cuteness tomorrow. Finally, in the US Weekly tradition, I present our first installment of:

Who Wore it Better?

Baby Honey 2011 (5 months)

Tootie McBootie 2008 (9 months)

Five months old!

I love you, Foosie Sue!

deep thoughts by SoS

Jake says we buy too much cheese

The moment you probably forgot existed until you accidentally checked your bookmarks is here: Sunday Blog Update Day!

idea stolen off Pinterest, inspired by real life events

It's official, I refuse to have a creative thought ever again. I will simply steal things off of Pinterest until I die. I have been thinking about getting a real hobby like sewing (too detail-oriented), photography (equipment too expensive), exercise (body too unreliable), proper spelling (nah), home improvement (too lazy), but I think I might try digital scrapbooking. It meets my criteria of being cheap and not requiring me to get off the couch, plus I can recycle blog content. If you have any tips or ideas on this topic, just pin them on Pinterest and I will steal them from there.

my scrapbook muses

We went to a beautiful wedding & reception this weekend for my friend Kristi and her new husband Kelly. It was fall-themed right down to having s'mores to roast over the fire. I was so happy to celebrate this day with her having known here for 25 years! Check out the awesome photos not taken by me because I am not a professional photographer here. Side note: I wore high heels! Thanks Auntie Elle for babysitting!

kitty cat pumpkin

My Aunt Jill & cousin Abby visited on Saturday for hair braiding fun. We otherwise had a lazy day to catch up on life. Henny is sleeping better thanks the advice of Dr. Marc Wesibluth. Naps, included! Nori is so excited for Halloween, more pumpkin carving, scary decor and of course, candy. She also wants to get a cat and suggested we order one off of Netflix. She thinks anything on the internet is Netflix. We also had a girl date which included painting our nails, shopping for "MindPetters", and hot chocolate at a chic cafe. Okay, at the Starbucks in Target Midway.

Guess who got a tooth?

my little tortuga

Nori is considering going as Steve Jobs for Halloween

our 3 children

You Are My I Love You

I am your parent; you are my child. I am your quiet place; you are my wild.

I am your calm face; you are my giggle. I am your wait; you are my wiggle.

I am your carriage ride; you are my king.

I am your push; you are my swing.

I am your audience; you are my clown. I am your London Bridge; you are my falling down.

I am your carrot sticks; you are my licorice. I am your dandelion; you are my first wish.

I am your water wings; you are my deep. I am your open arms; you are my running leap.

I am your way home; you are my new path.

I am your dry towel; you are my wet bath.

I am your dinner; you are my chocolate cake. I am your bedtime; you are my wide awake.

I am your finish line; you are my race. I am your praying hands; you are my saying grace.

I am your favorite book; you are my new lines. I am your night-light; you are my starshine.

I am your lullaby; you are my peekaboo.
I am your goodnight kiss; you are my I love you.

by Maryann Cusimano Love

Well, you know what?

That is how Nori starts all of her sentences. "Well, you know what? We should have some chocolate chips" Either that or, "I have an idea! Let's have some chocolate chips". Girls. Baby Hen is starting to nap better...once in a while...some days. She loves it when I hum a little Crash Test Dummies just like her big sister used to. Just because I am tone deaf does not mean I don't have joy in my heart.

Well, you know what? Another weekend has passed us by although there is still time left for chocolate chips (2 points on WW). We went to two bonfires, had two family walks, shopped at two grocery stores, and took care of two kids. Does that even make sense? Well, you know what? I don't care. Bloom had a chili bonfire on Thursday nigh at Central Park in Roseville and the weather was perfect! On Friday, Nori knew something was up when she awoke from her nap to see a tablecloth on the table. "What happened? Who is coming? Ahhhh!!! I am so excited!". We had Luke, Amy & Mia over and Jake cooked! Saturday night we hung with our favs, The Ho & 1/2 McIntyre Families outdoors for an almost relaxing bonfire. Jake even wore his camo pants (why does he own camo pants? funny story, you should ask him). Side note: I am firearm certified but that is completely unrelated.

Baby Henny

paint in my hair

Not to be dramatic, but I literally might collapse and die of exhaustion. This is practically the first chance I have had to sit down since I was at work on Thursday. We worked ALL weekend creating a fabulous new playroom in the color of Frozen Banana for our little girls. They owe us. Major thanks to Grandma Liz who painted her arse off and Grandpa Steve who changed a very messy diaper. A very special chest bump to Jake who hates painting but did it anyway for me. I could not have accomplished this project without your man skills! You know how on HGTV they make it look NBD to paint a room? Total liars. Huge deal.

Other accomplishments of the week include a solo trip the grocery with TWO kids! BTB, I do not recommend it. Don't laugh, but I made it through a whole week on Weight Watchers. Thank God I have the extra nursing points or I would never stay on track. When I hit my goal weight I am going on Oprah in a bikini. We also celebrated Ellen's 22nd...Happy Birthday Elle! Oh yeah, on Tuesday my mom got the all clear from the oncologist for no more check-ups. Yay! Now I just have one parent frequenting Masonic Cancer Clinic. Next up, two parents in the nursing home...

so happy together...

so happy apart...

Zoo Day with nanny Nicole ( yes, she is a bronze ape).

I play with toys now

running from the law

Somebody put on my mascara

They call me Bear. Foose Bear.

My Grandma can out paint your Grandma!

Spandex anyone?

Now, the moment you have been waiting for! Drum roll...

The old guest room BEFORE...

as good as it gets

this pile now is now in the hallway

The Playroom AFTER...

sunny reading spot

embroidery hoop art idea stolen from Pinterest

worthless closet now built-in bookcase

daybed for guests and stuffies alike

My little singers

Jasper & Horace (post titled by Norelle)

the self-proclaimed "Clumsy Ballerina" doing a twirl

What did you do for fun this weekend? Us? Oh nothing special, just wearing Daddy's socks like thigh highs and devouring an entire plate-sized chocolate chip Mickey Mouse-shaped pancake.

she is thrilled she got the Seltz nose

Papa's reading of Pinocchio had Nori in tears ( she was sad Pinocch spent the grocery money on candy)

My dear old dad (emphasis on the word old since he does not read this :) came to visit after his chemo was cancelled due to low white blood cells. At first I thought this was a good thing because high white blood cells mean you have an infection, but Duh! if they are too low your body can't fight infection. So Gemzar, you will have to wait until next week.

Shoulder Pads and The Twerp

In case you didn't notice, it was like totally nice out this weekend. Get off the laptop and and get outside. I know my English could be better when Nori pretends to speak for Henny saying, "She's all like, "What?"". That's my girl. As you know, typos are kind of my thing. I got a code for a free hardcover photo book from Shutterfly but it expired in 24 hours so I quickly threw together a book entitled "The Birth of Henley Cate". It contained several sentences that would make any English teacher cringe, much the like book I made for Nori awhile back, and every post on this blog.

favorite tree

We made our annual trip to Duluth this weekend to see our birth family. We dined at the most wonderful cafe featured on Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives called At Sarah's Table Chester Creek Cafe where someone had the aforementioned pancake. Someone else had the signature cranberry wild rice bread French toast and someone else enjoyed the Greek omlet. Yum! Afterwards, we went to a corn maze where we wandered through the stalks and danced to some guy playing music inappropriate for kids (but I liked it). Tasha & LeRoy are expecting a baby in March so that is exciting for them!

It's just me or does Hen look mortified?

the dead ends were her favorite part

buds

Jake took the princesses up to the marathon today to cheer on runners and get some fresh air so they would nap well. Well, they cheered well but did not nap. Often my baby has trouble staying asleep, especially for naps. And during the night she gets really restless after about 4:00 a.m. so we find ourselves plopping her in the swing to avoid getting up before the paper boy.

It's all a part of my plan, wink

a little under bed reading during the time formerly known as nap

The Little Pink Hen