Dinner and a Movie

Last weekend we headed down to Wausau to meet up with Tom and Sara for dinner and a movie.  Steve and Patti watched the kids for the afternoon and Eric and I were both excited for a little kid-free time away.  We met at Sara's new house and headed to a burger place to grab a bite.  Unfortunately, right as we were finishing up Sara got paged in to work which meant she wouldn't be able to go to the movie with us.  Eric and Tom have been planning on seeing Avengers - Infinity War for months.  The perk of seeing it in Wausau was that we got to watch the two and a half hour feature in Dream Loungers - super cozy and roomy recliners.  No more cramped leg space at the theater!  I was pretty darn content in my recliner with my big tub of popcorn and soda.  And, thanks to Eric making me watch three Avengers movies that week so I wouldn't be confused, I thoroughly enjoyed it AND knew what was going on.  I only wish Sara could have joined us!  We had a great time!

tree planting

Recently Enterprise Wood Products hosted an Arbor Day celebration in which they gave out tree seedlings to customers who attended.  There were some leftovers, so we took advantage and planted about 15 Colorado Blue Spruce seedlings in the woods in the back of our property.  I wanted to take a picture now so 20 years from now we can look back and remember how small they once were.

Star of the Week

Nolan was the Star of the Week in his class last week.  He worked so hard on his poster and uncharacteristically spent hours carefully coloring each detail on it.  He got to present his poster to his class and bring a toy to share.  He picked "Twirly," a K'nex invention that he made that resembles a windmill.  

I volunteer in his classroom every other Friday and love that I get the opportunity to see him in that environment.  He is a leader, full of self control, and friendly and kind to his classmates and teacher.  I'm so proud of the amazing young man that he is.  Keep it up, sweet boy!

Junk Bonanza

Mom and I have been wanting to attend Junk Bonanza for the past several years, so we were thrilled when our schedules aligned and headed to the twin cities for the big event.  It's held at Canterbury Park - a beautiful horse racetrack facility that worked perfectly for this kind of thing.  When I first walked in, I was completely overwhelmed by the sheer number of things that appeared to be "just my style." There were so many booths, each designed and displayed in such unique ways.  Mom and I spent the whole day perusing the items, picking out a few of our favorites and just trying to soak it all in.  I thought the prices were going to be unaffordable, but they were better than what I thought and each of us put some "junk in the trunk" to bring home.

We stayed overnight at Aunt Michelle's house and set out on the second part of our trip early the next morning.  We decided to stop at some of the shops located around the twin cities and headed to Xerxes Ave to Hunt and Gather and some other shops that were part of a Shop and Stroll event that weekend.  The shops had special sales, raffle prizes, and lots of yummy food and drinks which made it extra fun.  Lord knows everything is better with cupcakes!

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Our final stop of the weekend was in downtown Hudson.  There is an Antique Mall there that always has a few treasures, and a few other shops that were new to us.  We found a few more unique treasures and enjoyed walking by the river on such a beautiful day.  I think the fun of junking is never knowing what you might find.  We had a wonderful time and look forward to doing it again!

Buddies

These two are just the best of buds and it makes me so happy that they can play together so often.  We finally have some spring temperatures, but there's a lot of snow left to melt.  So this year, instead of rainboots and umbrellas and puddle jumping, it's snowpants and boots and snowball throwing...in mid-April!

Mommy Medicine

In the past six weeks, we have dealt with two rounds of croup, multiple colds, and two separate ear infections.  We have been to the doctor six times.  Needless to say, when Nolan woke up with an earache this morning, it was all I could do to keep from crying along with him.  This winter has been long and brutal and I am so ready to be done with sickness.  It's hard to be a mom with sick kids.  Being homebound for weeks on end, wiping noses for what seems like hundreds of times a day, sitting in the steam while your kid coughs, dosing out medicine, and watching them feel miserable makes for long, hard days.

Things turned around later that day when a small act of kindness by one of my best friends overwhelmed me.  Katie stopped by with a delicious and oh-so-decadent turtle cupcake that she brought just for me as some Mommy Medicine.  She knew (because she's been there, too!) just how weary my heart was feeling from all this sickness and cold, and that nothing fixes that better than some chocolate and the love of a friend!  Instead of feeling sorry for myself, I felt overwhelmed with gratitude.  How blessed am I to have this amazing friend in my corner who knows when I need a little pick-me-up?!

New Bathroom Floor!

Well, our bathroom project snowballed.  Once the counters looked so good it was a mere matter of days before I had a plan for the floor, paint color, shower curtain, and mirror frame.  I am my father's daughter after all...  Luckily my husband is a good sport when I get in a project frenzy and willingly went to Home Depot with me on Saturday morning to pick out our new tile floor.

I am so proud of how well we worked together on this project.  Eric's measurements were totally right on and each tile fit perfectly in its place.  I did all the cutting, using my sewing cutting mat, straight edge, and utility knife.  It took us about 4 hours once we got all of our materials gathered, the trim off, and the toilet out.  I can't believe how nice it looks. We spent about $70 total on all of our materials for both the floor and the countertops.  We may decide to do a more permanent fix down the road, but in the meantime the hideous pink countertop is gone and I couldn't be happier with how it turned out!

Week 15: Black and White

I have seen many blizzards in my 33 years of life, but I have NEVER seen one quite like this....in APRIL!!!  Over the past 3 days, we have gotten nearly 2 feet of snow.  I can see this happening in January, but by April we're supposed to hear birds chirping and see the grass turning green.  All we can see now is white.  I was one of the unlucky few that had to venture out this morning for church.  Eric snowblowed our driveway so I could get the car out, but none of the roads were plowed.  I could hear the snow scraping along the bottom of my car as I slowly and carefully made the 2 mile trek to church.  I couldn't stop at the stop signs or I would've never gotten going again.  There was just so much snow!

On the way back home, I got stuck trying to turn into the driveway and fortunately Eric and some neighbors came to my rescue.  Most of the businesses in town closed for the day (even Kohl's - I can never remember that happening...)  and we were content to stay put for the rest of the day until the storm finally passed.  Here's to hoping it melts quickly because I AM READY FOR SPRING!!!!

Wausau Day Trip

After weeks of being stuck in our house due to sickness and snow, cabin fever has majorly set in.  We decided we could all use a change of scenery to Eric and I decided to take the kids down to Wausau for the day on Saturday.  Our first stop was Younker's going out of business sale, where I found 3 nice pairs of high-end shoes that fit me like a glove for 60% off.  Since I hate shoe shopping, I consider this a major win!  We headed to Target next and the kids (and Eric) loved looking at the toys while I got to scope out the clearance section.  Taking the kids to Target is awesome - they can eat popcorn in the cart, so they are happy and (mostly) quiet.  Next we took the kids to Red Robin for lunch.  They were super pumped that they each got a red balloon to take home.  And a visit to Wausau wouldn't be complete without a trip to Sweet Lola's.  We picked an assortment of yummy treats to bring home.  They are the tastiest and most beautiful cupcakes I've ever had!  It was good to get out of the house and spend the day with my favorites!

1000 Books!!

Hooray, Livi!  She just completed reading 1000 books for our Library's 1000 Books Before Kindergarten program.  She loves to read books with me and we read at least 4-5 every day.  Her favorites lately have been "Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear?", "Little Blue Truck," "That's Not my Pony," and all sorts of lift the flap and sing along books.  She especially loves "Baby Beluga" and "What a Wonderful World."  Olivia can already name many letters and knows their sounds.  My guess is that she'll be an early reader, just like her big brother.  Our library offers so many great literacy programs and we're so grateful for our hard-working librarians for all they do for our kids.  Both Livi and Nolan love their librarians and great them with big hugs every Thursday.  Congratulations, Livi Lu!  Keep on reading!

Week 14: Nature

Mother Nature has been particularly cruel this spring.  These pictures were taken 12 hours apart.  Just when we thought the snow was on its way out, we got hammered with not one, but two major snowstorms.  Between the two storms we got about 16 inches of snow.  We have another 20 inches heading our way this weekend.  The average temperature has been in the 20s.  WINTER, GET OUT!  IT'S APRIL! 

Dentist

Nolan had his first dentist appointment yesterday.  We've been waiting until we were sure he could handle it, and wow - he handled it like a pro!  He sat there bravely with his hands in his pockets the whole time.  He was so excited to see his teeth on x-ray and was fascinated with the water/suction machines.  It helped that his dentist was his good pal, Andy Lindner, who said Nolan's teeth look just perfect!  No cavities for this little buddy!  Great work and keep up the good work, Nolan!  

Bonfire

Last weekend we headed out to the cabin to celebrate a new beginning for Eric's Aunt Sandy.  After 22 years working in the floral industry, she recently purchased The Briarhouse - an iconic coffee, clothing, and gift shop in town.  The Briarhouse has always been known for its beautiful and creative displays and Sandy will be just the person to keep that feel alive.  We celebrated her new chapter with a ceremonial burning of her old uniforms at a bonfire on Friday night.  We're excited for her as she starts this new venture and can't wait to see how she makes it her own over of the next few years.

croup again...and more

This winter has seemed unending.  It is cold, snowy, and our family has been sick for what seems like months.  A short few weeks after our last bout with croup, Nolan woke up again with that same tell-tale cough.  I took him into Urgent Care that morning for a dose of steroids to help get the inflammation down. By the next day, he was doing great - with hardly a cough at all.  But, it didn't last long.  By Friday he was having coughing fit after coughing fit, and ended up throwing up because he was coughing so hard.  I called his doctor and she told me to bring him back to Urgent Care.  He got a fresh batch of steroids - this time to bring home with us.  After only a couple doses, he was doing much better, but when I put Livi to bed that night she started coughing and it soon became apparent she had the dreaded bug, too.  After a week of her cold symptoms not getting better, I took her in to the doctor.  She ended up with a double ear infection and antibiotics.  Eric and I both had versions of  this cold, too.  There's nothing quite like being sick yourself and having to wake up multiple times a night with sick kids.  What our family really needs is some SUNSHINE and some spring weather!  Unfortunately, there's yet another snowstorm in the works for this weekend.  Who would think we would get FEET of snow in April!!  

Week 13: Easter

Over the past few years, Easter has become one of my absolute favorite holidays.  This year was no exception.  Despite a huge snowstorm on Saturday morning, my parents made the drive over to Rhinelander and arrived shortly after lunch.  We finished up some of the details for Sunday and Olivia and Grandma got to work making our traditional lamb cake.  Livi got really into it and was gravely concerned about the lambs ears being cold, so they put extra frosting on that part.  Before we knew it, it was time for bed and the fabulous chaos that is Easter morning.

The Easter Bunny hid eggs around the house and brought baskets for the kids.  We also decided that this would be a good time to give Nolan his new bike since he outgrew his little one last year.  The kids enjoyed all their treats and presents and before long it was time to get in our Sunday best for church.  

I was in charge of the music for our church service, so I had to be there early to rehearse the choir and get everything set.  Mom sang along with the choir which was nice, and we had a very good trombone player join in on the hymns.  Eric was unfortunately under the weather with a bad cold, so he had to miss out.  The kids were very well behaved and it was a nice service, full of joy to celebrate our Risen Lord!  This year, I started talking to Nolan about Jesus' Easter story.  We've been holding off until now, because we were afraid that he would be really upset about the idea of Jesus dying.  He has matured so much lately that we thought it was time.  Here's Nolan's recounting of the Easter story:

"Jesus grew up and helped to take care of everybody.  And He died on the cross.  His friends put him in the tomb.  And then in three days, he came back to life.  The girls went to the tomb and they saw an angel instead of Jesus.  And he said, "Don't be afraid. Jesus is alive!"

After church, we headed back to our house for our annual Easter brunch.  This is a meal I look forward to every year - it is always such a treat!  And it was especially fun to host a gathering at our new house!  We had Roasted Lamb with Rosemary Pesto, Baked Ham with Orange Glaze, Cheesy Hashbrowns, Creamy Cheesecake Fruit Salad, Caesar Salad, Asparagus with Egg and Parmesan, and of course, Eggs in a Basket.  Five years ago, when we hosted our first Easter gathering Eric informed me that Eggs in a Basket would be a staple at every Easter in our family for the reasoning: "They're Eggs in a Basket. It's Easter." Over the years we've gotten better at making them, learning that using grated baked potato for the hashbrown nests works way better than the frozen hashbrowns in a bag.  We also enjoyed Mimosas, Bloody Caesars, and finished everything off with the delicious lemon poppyseed lamb cake, made just like my Great Grandma Louisa's from when my Mom was a kid.

I love being able to spend this special time with both sets of our parents.  So many holidays we are forced to pick one side of the family or the other or we have a lot of travel to try to make the rounds.  It can make things hectic and stressful, trying to make sure we see everybody.  I love that for this one holiday, we don't have to choose and get to be surrounded by our closest family.  It really makes it a special day.  We are thankful for the blessings of family and the faith that, because of our Risen Lord, we get to be with those we love forever.  Happy Easter!