food – Page 26 – I only have 5 minutes

Uncategorized / December 14, 2009

OTW – food (cake) frenzy

At lunch on Friday I was getting something from the kitchen, turned my attention from the table where the boys were dining for a split second and saw this when I directed my attention back at them:

IMG_5185b

Nice huh?

Saturday we had hosted a birthday party at our house. Our friend, Deacon Joseph, came over for dinner and knew WE were celebrating with him, but had no idea about 20 other people were going to show up to surprise him too. Nolan had so much fun getting the birthday decorations out for the party. By far the best decoration in his mind was the Mylar balloon which we accidentally forgot to send home with our friend. Whoops! I guess we can re-use it for Jesus’ birthday in 11 days. 🙂

IMG_5194b

Sunday we had a visit from my mom and a friend of hers who was visiting from SD. She saw our house shortly after we bought it 6 1/2 years ago, so a lot has changed since then. It was fun giving her the tour – she remembered so much about the way the house used to be. I’m so glad we no longer have straw on the ceiling in the basement or black & neon fish wallpaper in the mudroom. Seriously…you should see the pictures.

We’re still eating leftover cake from Saturday’s party. We even sent cupcakes and cake home with other people. I don’t think the problem was that we made too much, it’s that people didn’t eat enough! Now I’m stuck with yummy frosted desserts staring me in the face when I walk into the kitchen. My willpower just isn’t strong enough to withstand the temptation. We had cupcakes for dessert tonight and Lincoln had a great time with his. At one point he was using a portion of it like it was some sort of animal. He hopped it along the tray of his highchair and made animal noises. I know I should have probably kept him in line, but it was too funny. I missed getting a picture of that specific scene, but do have a few of him making quite a mess.

Nolan didn’t take a nap today. The result was one tired boy at 7pm. It was amazing how fast he crashed once we got him ready for bed. I had told him earlier in the day that he was going to go to bed early tonight, but I didn’t think he’d have a problem making it until 7. Guess I was wrong. Lincoln on the other hand, was in good spirits for about an hour longer than his big brother. That meant he got a little solo time with his mom & dad. Here he is reading with his Daddy. I love how much our kids enjoy reading books. They even enjoy reading to each other – so cute.

Uncategorized / December 9, 2009

Peppermint fudge

Jake stayed home this morning to avoid the traffic mess caused by the recent snow storm. I was able to take Nolan to preschool without getting two kids bundled up and loaded into car seats. It was a treat! I’m amazed at how much faster I can maneuver when I’m only toting along one kid. I wonder if I’d think the same thing if we had 3 and I only had to keep track of 2. I digress…

Lincoln wasn’t very happy about being left at home this morning. He’s used to going everywhere Nolan and I go, especially to school. In order to get him to think about something other than missing his brother, I had him help break the candy canes for on top of the peppermint fudge I made. It was the perfect job for a little boy! And just in case you’re wondering how it turned out, the fudge is DELICIOUS!

Uncategorized / December 7, 2009

OTW – crafts, cookies & party shirts

Friday afternoon after nap time, I pulled out the “magical box of craft supplies” and let the boys use their imaginations. They each selected a piece of construction paper and loaded it with stickers & popsicle sticks and then punched out stars. We also pulled out the glitter and made a few ornaments for the tree. I love that part of my job as a mom means I get to play with fun craft stuff alongside my kids.

We were invited to a Christmas party on Saturday afternoon. Nolan and Lincoln helped me bake cookies to bring along. We made my Grandma Fran’s Gumdrop Cookies. (They’re my dad’s favorite, so I made sure we had extras to send my parents’ way.) I loaded the cookie sheets with dough balls and let the boys add the gumdrops. It was the perfect activity for them – just about as much fun as eating the final product.

Today as the kids were getting ready for the day, Nolan told me he wanted to wear his party shirt to school. I figured it would be good practice for the birthday celebration we’re having for a friends of ours on Saturday. Once Nolan had his shirt on, Lincoln made it very apparent that he, too, wanted to wear his party shirt. Here are the partiers playing in their hut after dinner.

IMG_5159b IMG_5165b

Uncategorized / November 29, 2009

5 days of fun

Wednesday night we had to scrounge up some pj’s for Nolan. I was a tad behind on laundry, so his “normal” pajamas were still in the dirty laundry pile. We made due with sport pants and a Twins shirt. Not to be left out, Lincoln “requested” a t-shirt of his own. Actually, he requested one of Nolan’s and we put it over his sleeper. He was SO proud of the fact that he was wearing the Corn Dog shirt. It’s a Sheck boy favorite.

IMG_4973b IMG_4972b IMG_4965b

Thursday was Thanksgiving Day. Nolan and I worked on a special project Wednesday afternoon & Thursday morning. We made turkeys using an outline of his hand and finger paint prints of his fingers. He had a lot of fun gluing on the beaks, “gobblers,” googly-eyes, and feathers. After the glue dried, I had him decorate the place settings at the table. He was pretty proud!

We hosted my family and our friends Teri & Nate for Thanksgiving dinner. My parents brought the main course (turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing & gravy,) I put together a couple of side dishes (the token green bean casserole and squash & apple dish I made a couple of weeks ago,) Tony brought fruit salad, and Teri made two delicious desserts. We dined with a couple of pilgrims who gobbled up the food on their plates like old Turkey Day pros. It was really nice to spend the day with family.

Can you tell they’re brothers? Lincoln has started smiling the way his big brother does. Both of them really know how to ham it up for the camera.

After Thanksgiving dinner I made the mistake of drinking two cups of coffee (with lots of flavored creamer.) The kids went to bed at 7 & 9. Jake did the same around midnight or so and I was up until 3AM! When I laid my head down at 3, I laid awake for another hour. It was ridiculous. I don’t know what I was thinking putting that much caffeine into my body so late in the day. Lesson learned…the hard way.

Friday we spent some time at Larissa’s apartment. She had a group of us over to swim in her pool. It was a tad on the chilly side, so we didn’t stay in the water long. We gave the boys a warm bath to raise their body temps and then had pizza for lunch followed by ice cream sundaes. Yum! Jake then took the kids home for a nap while I went in to the office for a few hours. When I got home, we put the kids to bed and went out in the porch for a while. Not much was on TV on Friday night; somehow we ended up on QVC. I ended up making my first purchase thanks to the TV pitchpeople. (I didn’t call in though – I made the purchase online.) I’ve been looking for sleeping bags for the boys’ Santa presents and found the perfect ones on QVC. Who would have thought? And not only are they sleeping bags, but they’re sleeping bags with cots! So as the boys get bigger and we’re able to bring the cots with when we travel, the kids won’t have to make camp on the hard (and nasty) hotel floor. Thanks QVC!

On Saturday we made the annual trip to Menards to pick up our Christmas tree. We thought about going to a tree farm to cut one down this year, but I think we’ll wait a bit longer before we go on that adventure. At this point, the kids are more excited about just getting the tree inside the house and decorating it. Down the road when they’re able to enjoy seeking out the “perfect” tree, we’ll head to the tree farm. Until then, Menards will bring the tree selection to us. We convinced the kids to take a nap after we got the tree home, telling them we’d decorate it if they napped. It worked perfectly. We all got some much needed sleep and then later in the evening, enjoyed hanging lights and decorations. We put the tree in the porch so little fingers can’t get to it unless they’re monitored. Thanks to the former owners of our house, some of the outlets in the porch are on a switch that is in the toy room. So even though they can’t get up close to the tree without mom or dad, the boys can turn the lights on and off by themselves – it’s perfect.

IMG_5043b IMG_5054b

Having two little boys in the house means we build a lot of forts. Sunday afternoon was no different. The card table we used on Thursday was still in the living room, so we covered it with a sheet and then placed the kids’ hut next to it to extend the width of the fort. Jake crawled in to see if he would fit. 😉 His feet stuck out one end and his head peered out the other. Being the helpful toddler, Lincoln checked on his daddy and then proceeded to try to rescue him by pulling on Jake’s head.

IMG_5058b IMG_5060b

Uncategorized / November 23, 2009

Happy birthday!

My view of birthdays changed a few years ago. I’ve reached a point where I really don’t keep track of how old I am, but still enjoy having a birthday. (As I’ve mentioned before, I love cake! Especially birthday cake!) I’ve come to realize that once you’ve hit the “milestone birthdays” – 16 (driver’s license); 18 (voting); 21 (legal consumption); 25 (insurance rates go down) you don’t need to necessarily make as big of a deal about your specific age. Birthdays become more about celebrating with family & friends and reflecting back on the year God has given you, with thanksgiving.

Today, I’m specifically thankful for the disappearance of the migraine that plagued me most of the day today. I was hoping to get out of the house with the boys this morning, but instead, laid on Nolan’s bed while the kids played in their room. We only had one casualty in the form of the barnyard lamp that was on their dresser. Jake came home at lunch armed with Tylenol and a Coke so I could try and combat the pain while resting. It seemed to work. When I woke from my nap 3 1/2 hours later, most of the migraine was gone. Unfortunately, so was most of the day. But we made the most of the few hours we had left before the boys went to bed. The kids had been waiting since Saturday to give me the presents they wrapped, so I had them help me open them . Before I could open my 3rd gift, Nolan said, “It’s an iPod!” He actually slipped up and mentioned something about it a while ago, but I had forgotten until that moment. He was SO excited for me to remove it from its packaging. I think it’s crazy how at 3 1/2 he knows what an iPod is. Maybe I should have him teach me how to use it.

After we opened presents, we had dinner as a family and had birthday cake again. Thanks, Larissa! Nolan even sang the Happy Birthday song to me 🙂 Here’s to another year of good times with family & friends!

Uncategorized / November 22, 2009

OTW – nature, family, scrapbooks & cake

We met friends of ours at Springbrook Nature Center on Friday morning. There is a visitor center with live and formerly live animals that the kids enjoyed looking at. I’m not much for snakes, but they had some pretty cool ones that were native to MN. Maybe I didn’t mind them so much because they were contained in their aquariums. Once we were done with the inside part of the visit, we ventured outside to walk one of the trails. The older boys had fun running ahead of us while my friend Brooke & I pushed the little ones in strollers. It was a beautiful morning to be outside. We ended up finding a grassy clearing and hung out there for a while so the kids could explore, play & eat a snack. They had so many animal crackers I don’t think any of them needed lunch.

Side note…Nolan has a book called Help’s on the Way! It’s about rescue vehicles.

Firehouse Tales

In one part of the book, Red, the firetruck helps rescue Milky, the ice cream truck. Milky is a big, white, boxy, truck. On our way to the nature center, Nolan said from the back seat, “Look at all those Milkys!” I paused for a moment, wondering what in the world he was talking about. When I looked in my mirrors, I noticed that we had just passed the RV sales lot with all of the big, white, boxy, RVs. I couldn’t contain my laughter 🙂 To his credit, the RVs DID in fact resemble Milky.

Friday night & Saturday I was able to spend time with friends organizing pictures and putting together a scrapbook with pictures from our engagement & wedding. This has been a project I have been meaning to start for quite a while, but just haven’t gotten to it. (I wonder why.) Now that I have things organized and also have a scrapbook to put the finished pages into, I’m hoping to be able to complete the book some time in the next year. We’ll see…

While I was doing my thing on Saturday, Jake took the boys to Hastings to see Auntie Kari (who was in town for the weekend), Grandma & Grandpa. From the looks of the pictures, they had a good time playing outside! They also helped wrap my birthday presents, which was pretty cute to see. I made sure not to look closely at those pictures until after I opened the gifts.

IMG_4798b IMG_4792b

Sunday evening, Jake’s parents came over so Jake and I could go out to dinner (a day in advance) for my birthday. We went to Biaggi’s and had a fantastic meal! Our server was a friend of my brother’s, so it was fun to catch up with him a little, too. We ended the evening with pumpkin pie and funfetti cake (made by Larissa). It was a great birthday-eve!

IMG_4848b IMG_4853b

Uncategorized / November 16, 2009

Reading, sleeping, dinner & movie

Jake was the “Mystery Reader” for Nolan’s class today. To add to the surprise every week, the kids cover their eyes once they are seated on a rug on the floor. Once the mystery reader comes in, the kids uncover their eyes. Nolan was pretty happy to see his daddy 🙂 Jake read the kids Harry the Dirty Dog.

Lincoln fell asleep on our way to pick up Nolan from school. He stayed asleep while I unbuckled him, brought him into the building, picked up Nolan, re-buckled him into his car seat and drove home. I was hoping I’d be lucky enough to complete the trifecta and bring him up to his crib for a nap, but no such luck. Instead, we all had lunch and THEN took naps – all 3 of us. I feel guilty taking naps lately, because it seems like when we wake up, there’s so little light left in the day. But at the same time it is difficult to fight the urge to sleep when I’m tired. I suppose I should just take advantage of the fact that I can still get both kids to sleep (if I sleep too) and just go with it.

After a trip to Sam’s Club and Cub, we joined friends of ours for a delicious lasagna dinner at their home. It was so nice to have a chance to eat a warm meal (the kids had their own little table, so they weren’t reaching/asking for food off my plate) and adult conversation.

We put the overly-tired boys to bed once we returned home from our dinner & visit. Lincoln was so tired he didn’t even fuss when I put him in his crib. He is usually not quite ready to lie down, so there are generally at least a few tears/whines from behind the crib rails – but not tonight.

Once the boys were in bed, Jake and I watched UP. It was a cute movie & good way to end the day.

Uncategorized / November 12, 2009

Makin’ Manicotti

Last week when I went grocery shopping, I actually went with a plan in mind. The list I brought only contained items that I needed for the meals I was planning on preparing. What a unique concept! I know this should come as no surprise, but it was really nice to cook with a menu already laid out. Now I just need to keep myself motivated and plan out my next set of meals. Cooking, I don’t mind. It’s figuring out what I want to prepare that I really loathe.

Tonight’s main course was manicotti. I’ve never prepared it before, but Betty Crocker made it sound easy enough for me to figure out. While the boys were napping, I put together the sauce and filling. Then, when the sleeping mini-men awoke, I put them to work. Actually, asking them to stand on the booster chairs and help me cook doesn’t take much arm twisting. I armed them with spoons and had them help me fill the manicotti shells. Nolan stayed on task pretty well. Lincoln lost interest quite quickly once he realized how tasty the filling was – I didn’t really try to stop him. I figure if he wanted to enjoy the spinach & cottage cheese mix, that was fine with me. The meal was a success – both boys cleared their plates and we now have leftovers. I love leftovers.

Uncategorized / November 9, 2009

Just a normal day

After having a weekend that was less than normal (my mom spent some time in the hospital unexpectedly) it was nice to have a day that was just “normal.” The boys got up and had a normal morning, ate normal breakfast – oatmeal with raisins & cinnamon, and made their normal request for part of my English muffin. They made their way to the garage to get into the suburban in their normal fashion and we arrived at preschool at our normal (almost on time) time. Lincoln and I went to the gym – he played in the child care center while I had a normal workout. After I finished, we took a break from our normal routine and stopped for a smoothie at the gym’s cafe. We picked Nolan up at his normal dismissal time, had a normal lunch and later took much needed, getting-to-be-more-normal nap. (Since Nolan has started school, I’ve found that he’s much more willing (and able) to take a decent nap in the afternoon. This is A-OK with me, because I occasionally get to nap as well.) Afternap time, we had a normal evening complete with dinner & playing in the porch.

I went to see my parents this evening to check in on my mom and deliver a squash & apple dish I made tonight. My mom is doing much better, which enables me to breathe a sigh of relief. (She is able to do so too, (literally) which is a huge improvement compared to over the weekend.) Today was just a normal day, and I’m thankful for that.