rookie of the year

baseball glove or monkey bed?

As you know, there's nothing I love more than sports. Baseball, hockey, football, tennis, soccer, golf... you name it, as long as there is aggressive competition that drags on forever. File this under things I would never say. I do love my kids though and T-Ball is part of the plan to help them turn out better than me . At practice I keep my strict policy of "no cheering", but I smile lovingly and flash the thumbs up sign when appropriate. Last night the Orange Merriam Park Team kicked the Yellow Merriam Park Team's butt. Well, they don't keep score and everyone gets a hit so I guess it was more of a tie. At least Nori tried her best, unlike last week she laid down in the field because she was "so tired". She also doing TumbleBees again and really enjoys that as well. Jake thinks she is going to be a runner someday because she is fast, but I know she really just runs fast to get it over with.

Speaking of runners, please support my friend Missy who is running her first half marathon! Missy is running the Surly Trail to raise money for clean drinking water in Africa. $50 provides clean drinking water for one whole generation!

Mickey Mantle and Babe Ruth

hitting a blooper into left field

Jake is jealous he didn't get a turn

Team Mascot Foosie Sue

staying alive

we hardly look exhausted at all

Is it Monday yet? Can't wait to sit at my computer all by myself  with a cup of coffee silently answering student emails and working on spreadsheets with no one biting my shoulder or tooting on my lap. Weekends are different now... days off are not what they used to be. The girls are particularly squirrelly this weekend needing to be entertained, fed, or cuddled constantly. My baby won't sit still and my big girl won't stop cutting "random shapes" of homemade confetti out of  miscellaneous papers around the house (you can never have enough confetti made out of Ikea magazines and Comcast bills).  I can't really recall all that we have done as it seems like we keep repeating the same patterns of eating, making big messes, and attempting to go for walks (which involve me carrying a 45 pound princess several blocks home). Jake has been trying to stain some woodwork outside and do other needed projects as I fail at being Super Nanny. At least they are cute and I totally love them.

What else? Nori was eating cheese and took a chomp out of her middle finger which was very traumatic for her. Two boxes of Band Aids later it is on its way to feeling better. Out of the blue she said, "I love Ben" and "I want to marry Ben". I did not encourage this idea rather I suggested she marry her dad instead.  She and I tell stories every night under the covers before bed but I have run out of ideas, so I now I just tell her movie plots with people we know as the main characters. So far she had heard the plots to Goonies, Ferris Bueller, Shawshank, Pretty in Pink, Star Wars, and Annie.  We will took an ill-fated trip to Target ... Henny has a new found phobia of shopping carts so we had to leave the store empty-handed. She is a total wiggle worm-- can't hold her long yet can't put her down anywhere without her wreaking major havoc. Restaurants and outdoors are very challenging. Her voracious appetite has scaled back but she is sure to get 20 servings of fruit a day.


Only two weeks until my husbo turns THIRTY-FIVE and we go to the lake for a week long family getaway. So much to pack, so little space...

Remember this? Look who is 3!

Rockin' birthday party for sweet little Anna!

peek a boo never gets olds

almost as good as playing  in the toilet...true story.

She prefers the manual method of hair restraint

must sleep under down comforter in winter PJ's no matter the temps

bonding with Daddy

Yellow Lab For Sale

Monday

Hello again!

The girls and I had a great week alone together while Jake was on a boondoggle in Chicago. I was afraid it would be a rough week on my own but they were both on their best, most adorable behavior. We enjoyed a frozen yogurt outing, T-ball with Uncle Casey, library visit, neighborhood walks, a trip to the Minnesota Zoo with Nicole & Baby Owen, "helping" Gramsie & Jill do wedding flowers, and breakfast with Papa Bill at Good Day Cafe. I even let Nori sleep with me in my bed where we snuggled "butt to butt". As she said best, "Momma can't sleep alone!". Hen is saying more words and pointing to new objects saying, "wha dat?" and she has learned to throw mini-tantrums and bite when she does not get her way. Ah, I have taught her well. We were thrilled when Jake got home on Saturday, the girls wanted to play with him and I needed to sleep (I can not sleep very well when he is gone, probably because I have to be Head Grown Up In Charge. But, the second he gets home I pass out). On Father's Day we just hung out at home, gave him his homemade video & card, a sweatshirt we got on clearance at Target and  then he cooked for us. Yeah, that's how we roll.

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to my girls' daddy, my Dad, and to Steve. We love you all!

1st T-Ball

quickies

 Everyone in our house has a lovey that they sleep with. See if you can match the lovey to the person?

 New hair, new horizons

One year happy



T-Ball with Uncle Casey

beautiful day in the neighborhood (funky formatting)

sidewalk poetry

When I first moved to the Twin Cities after college I really felt the increased pace of the city. On the weekends all I wanted to do was sit in our apartment to recuperate in preparation for the next week. When we bought our first house on Carroll Ave,  we were intentional about moving closer to work and the bus line as we only had one car, our lovely blue Accord. With our second house we knew we wanted to stay in Saint Paul  but this time we made sure we were on a quieter street and in family neighborhood. Our house is within walking distance of coffee shops, grocery stores, parks, the library, and even Nori's preschool. Sure, there are a few things we dream of that never will be like a huge backyard or giant  closets.  We have contemplated moving to the burbs but we just can't do it as we always come back to why we are here in the first place. This summer we have been embracing our neighborhood by walking to the local festivals, chatting with neighbors, and biking along the river and lakes. Out tiny yard is slowly transforming into an adorable garden with new cottage fence which also keeps kids contained. Jake is even running for city council . Yesterday at our annual block party we got to celebrate our neighborhood and community with neighbor friends. 62 lbs of pulled pork, grilled corn, summer salads, and giant Rice Krispies bars for all, plus a moon bounce for the kids. We feel really lucky live here.

p.s. Blogger hates me so all the text and photos I tried to post have disappeared. In summary, Grandma & Grandpa took Nori to a Twin's game, Jake did man work outside using a circular saw, Nori and I told lots of  "secrets" and HC jammed to Young MC.

I might enter the contest next year to have my poetry stamped.

oh wait, I don't have any poetry

morning walk to school

Hen had to make sure Nori got there safe and sound

Lulu, Estelle and  Nori  Block Party 2012

teaching Grandma how to party Merriam Park style

count the fedoras

princess dress is proper bouncing attire

princess power

Grand old weekend

Greetings!  What brings you here? Maybe you should start by telling me what fun things you are up to? Okay, go.

I'm waiting...
---

My mom came up on Friday so we, along the entire Highland Park High senior class, went to Minnehaha Falls for some nature. When it comes time to choose a school my kids, I am skipping the traditional tours and just showing up at one of these class trips to quiz them with questions from an ACT prep book. I can tell you this: these kids are quite good at doing bike jumps off the pavilion stage which could be a lucrative career option in the future when our planet is full of puddles due to global warming. Next time Gramsie comes to town, we are going to have a picnic at the falls followed by a family jaunt on one of these 4 person bike carts. Plan on it.

Friday evening my uncle, the Honorable Curly B. Lindman (you probably remember him from the OJ trial and our adoption finalization) had his retirement party at McGovern's where the pot stickers were top notch. I got to connect with some of my silent blog readers, Aunt Tracy's friends at the law firm* (what up Kay and Terri!). Jake stayed home to babysit while my mom & I slammed a few Cherry Cokes with family. Congrats Dale!

* Speaking of Aunt Tracy's law firm, there is a partner there who calls his wife Herself. Yes, with capital H. Instead of using her real name, he just says Herself, even with people who have no idea who Herself is. I LOVE this. From now on, Jake needs to start calling me Herself and probably I should call myself Herself too, just for consistency. If you want to call me Herself, I myself Herself, am down with that.

We love our Gramsie!

I pretended to like the falls but really I wanted a pic of that older, shirtless gent

On Saturday we ventured over to SPA with a picnic lunch to surprise Jake and watch him play tennis. I don't really know the rules of tennis nor to do I ever need to, but it was fun to see Nori  play for at least 120 seconds. HC enjoyed the courts as well and now I can now verify that Jake actually is playing tennis all those times he leaves for hours to "go play tennis". Nori & I  baked cookies for the neighbors (well, five for the neighbors, eighty- two for us) and had we had cozy family night in.

she kept saying "Djokovic"

she kept saying " mac and cheese"

backhand?

suck it, Venus!

Today was Grand Old Day and for once we did it right! Usually, we get there 15 minutes before it is shutting down but today we whooped it up in the Family Fun Zone.  Pony rides, petting zoo, jumpy castle, art projects, parade, corn dogs, rap contest,  balloons, bean bag toss, and shave ice. We had a blast! Of course Nori knows more people in Saint Paul than we do: she ran into Lucy from school and they held hands while watching the parade (cute) and we also saw Dagney and family from Tammy's house. We did run into some neighbors and I saw the crazy turtle lady's husband again, too! Who knows, maybe next year we will cross Snelling and venture into the grown-up area.

hoping for a fried turkey leg?

giddy up

feeding the cavies

big fans of the drumline

Things I did not mention include my dad recovering from a hernia operation and doing well, Nori getting shot in the gut with a champagne cork from our lawnmower and having another cold sore outbreak which causes the grumpies to come on rather easily. Henny  having a love affair with Dorothy saying "dog" all the time and giving her lots of cuddles and kisses.