March days

Gramsie & Norelle

My mom came to visit and help out. She also took Norelle shopping for her Easter present, hence the pink ballerina outfit and multi-flavored Chapsticks. They had a good time together! In other Nori news, she think that Harley the dog is "so pet-y" and now knows that girls have "privates" and boys have "peanuts", her translation not mine. Jake asked her what she wanted for lunch and she said "no steak, it's TOO yucky"...good thing that was not an option. Everyday she cracks me up with her musings on life, I wish I could remember everything she comes up with. Oh, and we have come up with a new parenting trick we like. When she wakes up too early on the weekend, we bring her up to our attic bedroom and set her up with a pillow, sleeping bag, and movie on the laptop so we can snooze/supervise. This is a major milestone after 2 years straight of 6:00 a.m. daily wake-ups!

Our house is clean and my suitcase is packed! We want to do some major reorganizing and minor redecorating this spring so I am working on ideas to better utilize our space and freshen up rooms with some paint, rearranging, and new accessories. Since our basement remodel is on indefinite hold, we will work with what we have. We might tackle the living room first to make it more cozy, I just have give Jake a pep talk first because he hates painting...

tiny dancer

my hero

Check out my new favorite blogger, (and Jake's cousin), Dominic.

stuff that's happening

Catching up on work and life in-between international trips! How did I manage 31 years in the northern hemisphere only to take two trips south of the equator in less than 6 months? I must love watching the water drain the other way.

I got my New Zealand itinerary and I can say we will be BUSY, touring universities by day and travelling to a new city by night. But I get a per diem! And I will spend every cent! Can you believe I have never had one single business trip EVER in my life, not even a conference? I will try to contain my dorkiness. This is the budget-challenged University so not only is this the last year they will likely offer these site visits but I will have a roommate. As Jake asked, "Who is he?"

My mom is coming this weekend to visit and allow me to clean, pack, organize, relax, and set up Skype. I am already getting really sad at the thought of being away from T.McB for 10 days !! She smells so good, I will miss her!

Congrats to my legally wedded husband who got promoted at work, his title is now officially "Vice President - National Growth Strategy Analyst" which sounds much higher paying than it really is. It's no"Finance Lead of Secondary Markets" but of course, we are grateful he is gainfully employed! He actually leaves for a work conference the day I get back from NZ so we won't even cross paths as he flies out hours before I arrive. In a total and completely unplanned coincidence, there happens to be a tennis tournament following his conference that he will attend as well.

03.03.03

University of Minnesota Medical Center head nurse, Chuck Brown R.N., receives a thank you smooch from longtime patient

SEVEN years ago today my beloved mother had her last chemo treatment after a horrific series of complications that landed her in the hospital for the better part of NINE months. It sucked beyond words however it allowed me to take my first ever stab at building a website using HTML code (you can so tell I had no idea) long before the advent of real easy to use blog templates. In addition, I earned my ID (Internet Doctorate) trying to keep up with Hol's conditions.

So much to be thankful for! I love you, Momsie!

Makenna

Please keep our little KennaBear in your prayers! She had a bad fall today and hit her head really hard. She is now on her second visit to the hospital after being lethargic and throwing up. The good news is her head CT looks fine and she getting fluids, Tylenol for the pain, and an antibiotic (they also discovered she has a sinus infection and ear infection, too). She "talked" to me on the phone and sounded adorable as ever, explaining this was all because we had to leave vacation too soon. Missy thinks they will be home later tonight.

tres amigas