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| From 2010_08_08 |
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Cars
My awesome neighbor, Suzi, took this picture of me and the kids out walking yesterday...
Saturday, August 7, 2010
Catching up
My computer is finally back up and running! Turns out the thing was under a recall and needed a new motherboard. Jamey got it fixed a couple days ago. So I thought I'd catch up on some photos that I took with my iphone but didn't transfer off there until now.
Here goes..
This is one of Ben & Maddie with their new "cars" (interesting side note...these two things are under recall too! We're waiting for a repair kit)
And Maddie being cheesy...
Laughing together...
Another of Maddie...
And Ben holding a really big stick -- one of his favorite things to do:
And finally...here's a picture of the tree that fell down at the cabin -- luckily didn't cause significant damage to the house:
Here goes..
This is one of Ben & Maddie with their new "cars" (interesting side note...these two things are under recall too! We're waiting for a repair kit)
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| From misc iphone aug 2010 |
And Maddie being cheesy...
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| From misc iphone aug 2010 |
Laughing together...
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| From misc iphone aug 2010 |
Another of Maddie...
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| From misc iphone aug 2010 |
And Ben holding a really big stick -- one of his favorite things to do:
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| From misc iphone aug 2010 |
And finally...here's a picture of the tree that fell down at the cabin -- luckily didn't cause significant damage to the house:
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| From misc iphone aug 2010 |
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Furlough week
My furlough week is coming to an end and I'll be going back to work tomorrow morning. It's been a crazy, busy week and I haven't done very well about noting things here. So here's a recap....
Last weekend I went to Watkins, MN to meet up with about 10 of my sorority sisters for our annual summer gathering. We went out on a boat (the kind that most people envy!) for the better part of the day, catching up and having a great time!
While I was out doing that, Jamey was a little too brave and took the kids to a festival in nearby Shoreview. The kids loved the excitement, I'm sure, but Jamey wasn't quite prepared for how they'd run in opposite directions when he let them out of the stroller!
Monday afternoon I took the kids to Rochester. We met up with my good friend, Dani, and her two kids. We stayed at a hotel that had an awesome toddler pool. All four of the kids had an absolute blast in the pool -- it was hard to get them out! (That was the first time they had been in a pool!) My brother, David, met up with us for dinner that night and then hung out with us all day Tuesday.
After swimming again in the morning, we went to the zoo at Oxbow Park (not too far from where I grew up). That was the first time Ben & Maddie had been to a zoo and they loved it -- except for the heat and humidity and being confined to the stroller.
They napped at David's house and then David and I took them to the play area at the mall and they went crazy running around and climbing on everything. We met our friend, Lois, for dinner that night. By then Ben & Maddie were wild from being over tired, but didn't go to sleep in the car as I expected for the drive home.
Wednesday night I drove them to the cabin after bedtime. Ben fell asleep right away, but Maddie fought it until about the last 45 minutes. Then she was really scared when I put her in her crib. She kept crying over and over and I couldn't get her calmed down. Finally I brought her in bed with me and she slept there. I didn't get much sleep, though!
I was on my own with the kids Sunday through Thursday afternoon cause Jamey was cramming to finish the second unit on the duplex. Renters moved in a few days ago!! Unfortunately, Jamey didn't quite get everything done and has to go back tomorrow and Tuesday (we've got a sitter coming). The renters weren't too happy either. The place is liveable, but the washer/dryer aren't hooked up, there are some broken windows that are being repaired and there's a leak that makes it impossible to use the shower (can use the tub, though). UGH. The end is in sight, though.
When we got to the cabin, we discovered yet another tree fell down. This one was resting on the edge of the roof, but luckily didn't cause major damage. Jamey and a friend of ours took it down this morning and thankfully it didn't take too long. It was clear the thing was dying and we hadn't noticed. A bad storm last week blew it right over.
Our friends, Annie & Jon and their two kids joined us Friday afternoon through today. They brought their camper and parked it out front so it was almost as if we didn't have company at all! They had their space and we had ours.
Ben and Maddie had fun playing with the older kids, but we also had some injuries. Maddie fell out of their camper -- she pushed on the door and it must not have been shut tight and out she fell. You can see on the picture below that she's got a little scrape on her nose and she scuffed up her knee pretty good.
Ben did a face plant into the wooden sidewalk when trying to get on a trike belonging to a 2-year-old. He banged up his forehead mainly.
It was tough trying to keep an eye on the two of them, while also having a conversation with our friends, etc.
Yesterday Jamey and I took Ben & Maddie to the beach for awhile. Our friends didn't want to go. One of their kids was sick most of the weekend and the other was taking a nap. As usual, Ben & Maddie loved the water. But Maddie wanted to walk by herself, even where the water was over her head!
Both of them seem to have caught colds somewhere along our adventures this week. Ben's congestion kicked in Saturday morning. Maddie's did just tonight after we put her to bed. It's awful listening to them have trouble breathing (and not sleeping well, as a result!).
Needless to say, I'm exhausted. Work sounds like a breeze compared to doing full-time toddler duty all week. UGH.
Here are some pics from this morning....Jamey didn't get to eat much of his breakfast. Ben & Maddie invaded even though they had already had their own breakfast!
And here's the "baconator", Miss Maddie....she LOVES bacon!
And Ben man-handling a giant piece of toast!
Last weekend I went to Watkins, MN to meet up with about 10 of my sorority sisters for our annual summer gathering. We went out on a boat (the kind that most people envy!) for the better part of the day, catching up and having a great time!
While I was out doing that, Jamey was a little too brave and took the kids to a festival in nearby Shoreview. The kids loved the excitement, I'm sure, but Jamey wasn't quite prepared for how they'd run in opposite directions when he let them out of the stroller!
Monday afternoon I took the kids to Rochester. We met up with my good friend, Dani, and her two kids. We stayed at a hotel that had an awesome toddler pool. All four of the kids had an absolute blast in the pool -- it was hard to get them out! (That was the first time they had been in a pool!) My brother, David, met up with us for dinner that night and then hung out with us all day Tuesday.
After swimming again in the morning, we went to the zoo at Oxbow Park (not too far from where I grew up). That was the first time Ben & Maddie had been to a zoo and they loved it -- except for the heat and humidity and being confined to the stroller.
They napped at David's house and then David and I took them to the play area at the mall and they went crazy running around and climbing on everything. We met our friend, Lois, for dinner that night. By then Ben & Maddie were wild from being over tired, but didn't go to sleep in the car as I expected for the drive home.
Wednesday night I drove them to the cabin after bedtime. Ben fell asleep right away, but Maddie fought it until about the last 45 minutes. Then she was really scared when I put her in her crib. She kept crying over and over and I couldn't get her calmed down. Finally I brought her in bed with me and she slept there. I didn't get much sleep, though!
I was on my own with the kids Sunday through Thursday afternoon cause Jamey was cramming to finish the second unit on the duplex. Renters moved in a few days ago!! Unfortunately, Jamey didn't quite get everything done and has to go back tomorrow and Tuesday (we've got a sitter coming). The renters weren't too happy either. The place is liveable, but the washer/dryer aren't hooked up, there are some broken windows that are being repaired and there's a leak that makes it impossible to use the shower (can use the tub, though). UGH. The end is in sight, though.
When we got to the cabin, we discovered yet another tree fell down. This one was resting on the edge of the roof, but luckily didn't cause major damage. Jamey and a friend of ours took it down this morning and thankfully it didn't take too long. It was clear the thing was dying and we hadn't noticed. A bad storm last week blew it right over.
Our friends, Annie & Jon and their two kids joined us Friday afternoon through today. They brought their camper and parked it out front so it was almost as if we didn't have company at all! They had their space and we had ours.
Ben and Maddie had fun playing with the older kids, but we also had some injuries. Maddie fell out of their camper -- she pushed on the door and it must not have been shut tight and out she fell. You can see on the picture below that she's got a little scrape on her nose and she scuffed up her knee pretty good.
Ben did a face plant into the wooden sidewalk when trying to get on a trike belonging to a 2-year-old. He banged up his forehead mainly.
It was tough trying to keep an eye on the two of them, while also having a conversation with our friends, etc.
Yesterday Jamey and I took Ben & Maddie to the beach for awhile. Our friends didn't want to go. One of their kids was sick most of the weekend and the other was taking a nap. As usual, Ben & Maddie loved the water. But Maddie wanted to walk by herself, even where the water was over her head!
Both of them seem to have caught colds somewhere along our adventures this week. Ben's congestion kicked in Saturday morning. Maddie's did just tonight after we put her to bed. It's awful listening to them have trouble breathing (and not sleeping well, as a result!).
Needless to say, I'm exhausted. Work sounds like a breeze compared to doing full-time toddler duty all week. UGH.
Here are some pics from this morning....Jamey didn't get to eat much of his breakfast. Ben & Maddie invaded even though they had already had their own breakfast!
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| From 2010_08_01 |
And here's the "baconator", Miss Maddie....she LOVES bacon!
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| From 2010_08_01 |
And Ben man-handling a giant piece of toast!
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| From 2010_08_01 |
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Fun with new friends
Our friends, Annie & Jon, came to the cabin this weekend with their kids, Parker (6) and Joshua (2). It's been a bit rough because Parker and Ben have both been sick. But the kids clearly liked playing together. Here's some pics from tonight:
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| From 2010_07_31 |
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| From 2010_07_31 |
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| From 2010_07_31 |
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Sorry, no pictures
Sorry I've been lax about getting pictures on here. My computer is not working properly, so I've been reluctant to load pictures on a different computer for fear that they will get separated from the rest and lost forever!
Next week I'm on furlough, so I'll be sure to get some new pics and find a way to get them online.
Next week I'm on furlough, so I'll be sure to get some new pics and find a way to get them online.
Sunday, July 18, 2010
The storm
We had a wicked storm blow through last night, but luckily we were on the edge of it and didn't get the worst of it.
But we woke the babies and took them to the basement, just to be safe. Amazingly they didn't cry at all -- just looked at us dumbfounded for about the first 20 minutes. Then they wanted to play, of course.
We put them back in bed about an hour later, expecting a torrent of tears and crying. But they just curled up in their cribs and went right to sleep.
Unfortunately, they woke up at 5 a.m. -- well, well short of their usual 10 or 11 hours of sleep. So they were crabby little monsters all morning. Then they took three-hour nap this afternoon and recovered.
We had planned to go to the cabin this weekend. But Friday we decided to stay put and go up Saturday night so that Jamey would have all day Saturday to work on the rental property. (We have tenants ready to move in Aug 1 so he's furiously working to finish the second unit!).
So last night I had the car completely packed and ready when Jamey came home, just as the storm was bearing down. I hadn't been watching TV so I didn't know that it was a bad one until he got here. Then the power went out around 8 pm and it just didn't seem like a good idea to go out in the car.
So we nixed the whole weekend altogether.
When the kids went back to sleep, Jamey drove around and discovered that people just two blocks in either direction of us had power. But ours was still not on when we went to bed around 10 pm. At 3 am Jamey called Xcel Energy and they gave him some spiel about "we're working on it" and "we don't know how long it will be", etc.
Not even five minutes later the power flicked on. It was just too weird. Coincidence? We don't think so. Maybe they somehow didn't know our block was dark until we called? It was just weird.
But we woke the babies and took them to the basement, just to be safe. Amazingly they didn't cry at all -- just looked at us dumbfounded for about the first 20 minutes. Then they wanted to play, of course.
We put them back in bed about an hour later, expecting a torrent of tears and crying. But they just curled up in their cribs and went right to sleep.
Unfortunately, they woke up at 5 a.m. -- well, well short of their usual 10 or 11 hours of sleep. So they were crabby little monsters all morning. Then they took three-hour nap this afternoon and recovered.
We had planned to go to the cabin this weekend. But Friday we decided to stay put and go up Saturday night so that Jamey would have all day Saturday to work on the rental property. (We have tenants ready to move in Aug 1 so he's furiously working to finish the second unit!).
So last night I had the car completely packed and ready when Jamey came home, just as the storm was bearing down. I hadn't been watching TV so I didn't know that it was a bad one until he got here. Then the power went out around 8 pm and it just didn't seem like a good idea to go out in the car.
So we nixed the whole weekend altogether.
When the kids went back to sleep, Jamey drove around and discovered that people just two blocks in either direction of us had power. But ours was still not on when we went to bed around 10 pm. At 3 am Jamey called Xcel Energy and they gave him some spiel about "we're working on it" and "we don't know how long it will be", etc.
Not even five minutes later the power flicked on. It was just too weird. Coincidence? We don't think so. Maybe they somehow didn't know our block was dark until we called? It was just weird.
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Doctor, Doctor
This morning Ben & Maddie had their 18-month well visit with their pediatrician. Mostly good news. She wants Maddie to see an pediatric orthopedic specialist because she's concerned about Maddie's legs. Maddie sits in a W shape -- with her legs out to the side -- and our efforts to correct that have been so-so. Today the doctor noticed that Maddie's feet are pointing out. We are also starting to think this might be why Maddie tends to fall down a lot more than Ben. Yesterday she did a major face plant in the concrete in the garage -- just trying to run across the room (and there wasn't anything that she could've tripped over). So we'll be doing that sometime soon.
Ben's height, which the doctor had been concerned about on the last visit, has improved significantly. Both are in the 50th percentile for height.
But they are little munchkins when it comes to weight. Ben is in the 1st percentile. Maddie is a little above the 10th percentile. But I'm not worried. I'd rather have them be on the low end of the scale than the high end!
The visit was a bit challenging. Neither kid wanted to sit still, so they tore the place apart. It didn't help that the air conditioning hadn't really cooled the place down yet (at 8:30 am), so Jamey and I were sweating by the time we got out of there. Then I had to go to work!
Ben's height, which the doctor had been concerned about on the last visit, has improved significantly. Both are in the 50th percentile for height.
But they are little munchkins when it comes to weight. Ben is in the 1st percentile. Maddie is a little above the 10th percentile. But I'm not worried. I'd rather have them be on the low end of the scale than the high end!
The visit was a bit challenging. Neither kid wanted to sit still, so they tore the place apart. It didn't help that the air conditioning hadn't really cooled the place down yet (at 8:30 am), so Jamey and I were sweating by the time we got out of there. Then I had to go to work!
Lots of visitors
Our last day of the long holiday weekend yesterday was mostly spent entertaining out-of-town visitors.
First, we had Shelby and her Dad (my old neighbors from Kasson -- I used to babysit Shelby and her sister!)
Then we had September and her husband Jonathan, who are expecting their own set of twins later this year! Here's the soon-to-be-mom trying her hand at entertaining my crazy toddlers!
First, we had Shelby and her Dad (my old neighbors from Kasson -- I used to babysit Shelby and her sister!)
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| From 2010_07_06_b |
Then we had September and her husband Jonathan, who are expecting their own set of twins later this year! Here's the soon-to-be-mom trying her hand at entertaining my crazy toddlers!
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| From 2010_07_06_b |
Monday, July 5, 2010
Fourth of July
Our long weekend at the cabin has been fabulous. It all ends in the morning, though, when we have to drive back. I've got the day off tomorrow, but we've got to get back for some appointments and other things going on in the afternoon. So we need to try to hit the road so that the kids are home before lunch and naptime.
We've been out on the lake every afternoon. Yesterday we went to my cousin's -- the Junkers-- who have a place north of here. We all played in the water, including their two girls. Ben & Maddie mostly wanted to play with the sand and walk back and forth on the dock. Then we had dinner with them and drove home at bedtime. Ben & Maddie were so well behaved -- as usual.
We had some rain on Sunday morning and it's going to rain tonight, but otherwise the weather has been great.
I haven't gotten as much sleep as I would've liked thanks to our neighbors (just a few houses down) doing fireworks the last three nights until 11 pm! That's way too late for me since the kids wake up around 5:30 a.m. Today I ended up taking a 2-hour nap and probably would've slept longer if Jamey hadn't come in to wake me up.
We didn't take too many pics. I got a few on the boat today with my iphone, but I forgot the cable to connect it to my computer. So I'll add those tomorrow night. In the meantime, here's one I got of Ben tonight. This seems to be his favorite place to sit up here!
We've been out on the lake every afternoon. Yesterday we went to my cousin's -- the Junkers-- who have a place north of here. We all played in the water, including their two girls. Ben & Maddie mostly wanted to play with the sand and walk back and forth on the dock. Then we had dinner with them and drove home at bedtime. Ben & Maddie were so well behaved -- as usual.
We had some rain on Sunday morning and it's going to rain tonight, but otherwise the weather has been great.
I haven't gotten as much sleep as I would've liked thanks to our neighbors (just a few houses down) doing fireworks the last three nights until 11 pm! That's way too late for me since the kids wake up around 5:30 a.m. Today I ended up taking a 2-hour nap and probably would've slept longer if Jamey hadn't come in to wake me up.
We didn't take too many pics. I got a few on the boat today with my iphone, but I forgot the cable to connect it to my computer. So I'll add those tomorrow night. In the meantime, here's one I got of Ben tonight. This seems to be his favorite place to sit up here!
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| From 2010_07_05 |
Friday, July 2, 2010
18 months!
Ben & Maddie hit their 18 month birthday this week. What a milestone! They are so different now than when they were born, and life has changed so much in our house in such a short period of time.
They are saying a few words and communicating to us in all kinds of ways -- including a little sign language. They clearly love it when we understand what they're saying.
This week also marked one year since I returned to work after my maternity leave. That also means that I've been reporting on and writing about Denny Hecker for that long, too. Wow. And there doesn't seem to be any end in sight.
Today we had a going away party for one of my favorite reporters (he's going to the Star Tribune) and we were told that our Vikings reporter is also leaving. But the really great news was that the publisher has given the editor the authority to fill those jobs. This is the first time we've posted job openings in probably three years! That's a huge turning point. As one of my other colleagues said, it seems that, after months aimlessly drifting at sea, we can finally see land!
We're heading to the cabin tonight, after the kids are asleep and it's gotten dark outside. Hopefully they will go right back to sleep and we'll miss the worst of the traffic. I'm off on Tuesday, so we'll also miss the return traffic.
I'm looking forward to a nice, long weekend at the cabin. And the weather is supposed to be great! I'm sure we'll get some pictures, so I'll post them when we do.
They are saying a few words and communicating to us in all kinds of ways -- including a little sign language. They clearly love it when we understand what they're saying.
This week also marked one year since I returned to work after my maternity leave. That also means that I've been reporting on and writing about Denny Hecker for that long, too. Wow. And there doesn't seem to be any end in sight.
Today we had a going away party for one of my favorite reporters (he's going to the Star Tribune) and we were told that our Vikings reporter is also leaving. But the really great news was that the publisher has given the editor the authority to fill those jobs. This is the first time we've posted job openings in probably three years! That's a huge turning point. As one of my other colleagues said, it seems that, after months aimlessly drifting at sea, we can finally see land!
We're heading to the cabin tonight, after the kids are asleep and it's gotten dark outside. Hopefully they will go right back to sleep and we'll miss the worst of the traffic. I'm off on Tuesday, so we'll also miss the return traffic.
I'm looking forward to a nice, long weekend at the cabin. And the weather is supposed to be great! I'm sure we'll get some pictures, so I'll post them when we do.
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