Ivar gets his turn during the day. Toonces gets to enjoy the play gym at night.
learning how to share
Ivar gets his turn during the day. Toonces gets to enjoy the play gym at night.
smash journal
My friend Rene told me about this video on stacyjulian's blog. It's a new product, and I would imagine the person who thought of this smash journal and pen/glue stick is going to make a lot of money. It's not really that complicated or revolutionary of a product, but it seems so novel in this video! And so fun.
Enjoy. It got my creative juices flowing today.
squeeky clean
Ivar loves to take baths as much as I do. Though he is more fond of sucking wet towels while taking his baths than I am. I like bath time at our house because it is such a family affair. Bath time means all three of us are huddled closely together at the end of the day. And I think it will stay that way for a while because I am afraid to give Ivar a bath without Rory nearby to help with the wet-baby-into-dry-towel transfer. That's a tricky, wiggly, slippery maneuver. So until I find my third and forth arms, each night around 7 you can find the three of us splashing together in our kitchen sink.
part of this complete breakfast
I've got a recipe to share with you this morning. It's my grandma's oatmeal. She has completely changed the way I look at oatmeal and now I eat it every single morning. For real. I haven't missed a morning since the bowl she made for me in Mesa.
It's because this isn't really oatmeal. It's like hot granola cereal when she's done with it, and it is so divine. And it keeps me full easily until lunchtime.
Grandma's Oatmeal: (single serving)Place 3/4 cup water, a few dried cherries, a small handful of raisins,
and a dash of salt in a sauce pan and bring to boil.
In the meantime crumble a few black walnuts in the bottom of the
bowl you'll eat your oatmeal in. Cut 6-7 grapes in half. Add those to the bowl.
Stir in 1/3 cup quick oats to the boiling water. Turn down heat
and stir occasionally until the water is absorbed.
Spoon oatmeal onto walnuts and grapes.
Dab on some butter and sprinkle on brown sugar.
THIS IS DELICIOUS. I use Steel Cut Oats because I once heard dr. oz say they're really good for you. And I don't really use that much butter or brown sugar. There is so much other stuff going on in this oatmeal that these two aren't quite as necessary as they are in a typical bowl of oatmeal.
The grapes are crazy good. You know how oatmeal usually sort of coats your mouth with mush? The grapes sort of cut through that because they're so juicy. I would have never thought of putting grapes in oatmeal, but Grandma did and now we know.
So enjoy. It's a fantastic, cozy way to enjoy a hot breakfast in the cold of winter.
handmade baby
My friend from high school, Crystal, made this hat for Ivar. I adore it. It's so sweet and I love that it has ear flaps. Ivar loves it too. He can grab things now and is a fan of putting whatever he was able to grasp into his mouth, so the strings on this hat keep him really busy.
My sister-in-law, Sara, made these little slippers for him. They are so stinking cute and STAY ON HIS FEET! A serious bonus in baby footwear.
wolf blitzer and troy groves
My brother-in-law was on CNN last night on a few different shows. He and Sara and the band were stranded in Chicago during the blizzard...
great, great grandsons
This is pretty cool. These two little boys have the same great, great grandparents. It makes them third cousins on Rory's side. I wish I had someway to show this in a family tree, because I finally just wrapped my visual head around it, but I think it is so amazing to think that four generations later, these little boys will grow up knowing each other as family. It reminds me of Sara's song, "to my great, great, great grandson, live in peace." It's amazing how the heritage of one couple four generations ago is still felt so strongly today. 
I like this picture. I think it looks like Henry is saying, "tell me again how we're related?"
And the mama's. Marlene's cousin Debbie had us over for a new baby brunch. It was a fantastic morning with two new moms so happy to be out of the house for the morning! Thanks Debbie for having us over. I wish I had a picture of all of us!how he loves us
On Friday night I started singing to Ivar as we lay on the bed together, “He loves us, oh how he loves us…” and as I sang this refrain over and over again Ivar began to join in. He was singing the sweetest coos, looking right at me and joining in my song. We sang for a long, long time, his sounds sweet and pure.
His song was indescribably beautiful to me. I could have lived in that moment forever. I sang my lyric about how much God loves us, and I had this powerful moment of understanding why we sing praises to our God. Because in that moment I was so pleased and delighted in the song of my son and I realized that God shares this delight when we offer our sweet songs of praise to him.
It made me want to worship.
His song was indescribably beautiful to me. I could have lived in that moment forever. I sang my lyric about how much God loves us, and I had this powerful moment of understanding why we sing praises to our God. Because in that moment I was so pleased and delighted in the song of my son and I realized that God shares this delight when we offer our sweet songs of praise to him.
It made me want to worship.
good sports
Mara, age 5, was very crafty the whole time we were in Mesa. She made lots of Valentines and then decided to make Valentine headbands for everyone to wear in a valentines parade we were planning. Unfortunately the parade never happened, but two headbands were completed...Ivar's and Svea's. They were kind enough to pause from their busy schedules for a photo shoot.
my thrifty dad
When my parents purchased their place in Mesa it came fully furnished and move-in-ready. Including the patio furniture. Now the patio furniture works, but could use some love. The arm rests on these things are brittle from the Arizona sun, and most are cracked apart with lots of sharp edges. After my niece Sonna scraped her leg really badly on a cracked arm rest a case was made for new patio chairs. My mom was making the case and as she asked my dad to go and purchase new chairs, part of my arm rest crumbled under the weight of my elbow.But by suppertime, Dad had found his thrifty fix. He bought matching towels at the dollar store and a ream of electrical tape and beamed as he told us he thought the chairs at least have another year in them. Maybe more.
And you know, they were comfy. Felt like a terrycloth towel wrapped in electrical tape, but they were comfy. And I have to believe there are no other patio chairs in the universe quite like the ones we enjoyed as we picnicked the rest of the week.
good morning great grandma
Rory, Ivar and I stayed at my Grandma's place while we were in Mesa. It's just two blocks from my parents so we weren't there a whole lot, but every morning after I fed Ivar, I'd take him up to his Great Grandma and lay him on the couch. And there they would smile and laugh at each other and start their day off in the happiest of moods.Ivar is a smiley baby. He is so responsive lately and loves when others give him some good, solid eye contact with happy faces. He rewards others for taking notice of him and will smile and make sweet sounds to keep their attention. He's quite the sweetheart, if I do say so myself.
mr. sun
Vacations are always hard to come off of and this one is no exception. I love family, I love the sun, I love a good hot tub, I love taking walks with the stroller, I love family discussions and I love watching Rory with Ivar. This vacation had it all. We spent most of our time in the pool. The water was about as warm as Ivar's bath water which made it enticing for adults and 3-year-olds alike.
You could also find us zipping around on my Grandma's golf cart, or pushing various combinations of kiddos in the strollers. The weather was perfect every day...and we felt grateful to be out of Minnesota for a break from winter.
My favorite quote from the week came from Mara. I was taking her and Sonna to the pool by myself and as we were walking there I was talking through some ground rules. I told them that they could not swim away from me, that they always had to be close enough that I could help them if they needed it, since there were two of them and only one of me. Mara replied, "I know. We should be close so you can hear our bubbles if we go under the water."
Sonna rocked it in pink all week long. The girl has got style and spunk.
And I believe Svea was just happy that the ratio of adults to children was so high. I think she found this vacation to be a nice rest from well-intentioned sisters who tend to violate her personal space.
Rory got to read two books while we were there. That's a good sign of a good vacation.
And I got to snuggle a lot with my little boy. say no more
This was my fortune from Leeann Chin on new years eve. When I read it I screamed, "We're going to Mesa!"
Rory and Ivar and I just returned from an incredible five days in sunny Arizona. It was perfect. Lots of pictures and stories to come...
so true
We've all seen this quote before. And it's nice. But you know where I took this picture? I took it in the room they put us in just before Ivar was born, where I was hooked up to the machine to measure the intensity of my contractions. I stared at this quote intensely and I found it timely and rather funny. Because at that point, my breath was taken away about every four to six minutes.A big huge Welcome the the World to Levi Boehnen, my bff Heidi's little boy. He was born early Saturday morning after EIGHT minutes of pushing. Yowza. That's got to hurt. And it turns out, according to Heidi, it did. But Levi is here and I am so glad.
cleaning out the clutter
A while back I read this post from Donald Miller and was inspired to simplify and online life. So I went through all of the blogs that I subscribe to and got rid of half of them. It was hard to do, but I have to say my life is fine without those blogs and I am actually aware of the extra time that has magically been added to my every day.
The strange thing is that after I rid my google reader of these blogs, I actually felt the exact same good feeling I feel when my house is clean, or after I clean out a closet. Simplifying and organizing just plain feels good.
And on a sort-of-related thought, I have been cleaning my house differently lately. It used to be that I would start cleaning the bathroom and take a water glass from in there and bring it to the kitchen, and then I would load the dishwasher and clear off the counter, bringing papers to my desk where I would get hung up trying to organize my paper life. While organizing my desk I would return a book to the living room where I'd see the mess on the coffee table. And after 30 minutes of this, I had nothing to show for my efforts. Every room looked "sort of" clean.
So I am now cleaning only one room at a time. And it works. If I completely finish the bathroom first, I often find the enthusiasm to hit the next room. If I tucker out in the next room (or more likely, Ivar wakes up) I still have one clean room to show for my time.
Try this cleaning method. I know it sounds obvious, but it was hard for me to do at first. And it has actually changed my attitude towards daily house work. (well, that might be a bit extreme...)
The strange thing is that after I rid my google reader of these blogs, I actually felt the exact same good feeling I feel when my house is clean, or after I clean out a closet. Simplifying and organizing just plain feels good.
And on a sort-of-related thought, I have been cleaning my house differently lately. It used to be that I would start cleaning the bathroom and take a water glass from in there and bring it to the kitchen, and then I would load the dishwasher and clear off the counter, bringing papers to my desk where I would get hung up trying to organize my paper life. While organizing my desk I would return a book to the living room where I'd see the mess on the coffee table. And after 30 minutes of this, I had nothing to show for my efforts. Every room looked "sort of" clean.
So I am now cleaning only one room at a time. And it works. If I completely finish the bathroom first, I often find the enthusiasm to hit the next room. If I tucker out in the next room (or more likely, Ivar wakes up) I still have one clean room to show for my time.
Try this cleaning method. I know it sounds obvious, but it was hard for me to do at first. And it has actually changed my attitude towards daily house work. (well, that might be a bit extreme...)
marsupial mama
This Peekaru was given to us by our Colorado Frick family. Ivar is sitting in his baby bjorn and then this fleece vest zips up the side to keep him warm. I used it on Friday while shoveling with him and today we went out to take a walk.I cannot tell you how much I love this thing. At first I thought it was more funny than functional, but it is awesome! Ivar LOVES it. As soon as I put it on I check in the mirror to make sure he can see and he is always smiling so big.
For a Minnesota Mama who desperately still needs to get outside from time to time, this is the perfect gift.
can I have a do-over?
I spoke at a women’s conference this weekend. I was so honored to be asked to be a workshop speaker by one of my favorite people in the world and immediately wrote out my notes feeling inspired and confident.
When I got to the conference, I heard the key note speaker and she spoke on a subject different than what I thought the conference was centered on. So I decided to adjust my session a bit. And then I realized that I had really geared my talk towards middle and high school girls (the conference started out just for them but then grew to accommodate all ages) and when I got into my breakout room, there were more post high school women than anyone else.
So I started talking and suddenly decided to change things up a bit to better reach my audience. This begins my train wreck. My organized thoughts suddenly became a mess in my head. My main points were scattered and I could see it in the eyes of the 50 or so faces looking back at me. I think pregnancy brain was also messing me up a bit. But I kept going. I tried to get it back together. But then Mean Voice started to talk louder. Mean Voice was seriously crowding my thinking saying not helpful things like, “tell me again why you thought it was a good idea to restructure this talk while giving it?” and “pretty sure you’re not saying anything insightful or new. You can tell everyone has heard all of this before.” And the more I battled Mean Voice, the more I sped through the stories I had to tell, the more I brushed over relevant points without giving each thought the depth I wanted to share. Mean Voice made me want to get out of there…fast.
In the end, my session concluded and the 50 women in there probably thought I was just a nervous communicator. But I knew better. I know that I had something to share and that I really botched it up.
It’s such a bad feeling. Rory was there watching Ivar and afterwards he took me out for a big chocolate chip cookie and we came home and pulled the curtains, watched a movie and I took a long nap. And when I woke up, I still felt crappy.
The crazy thing is that I know how human this is, and how normal it is just to blow it once in a while. So today I’m working on forgiving myself and finding the grace to do so. I’m trying to tell myself that this is just one experience and not to let this one throw me for future speaking opportunities.
But sheesh, I hate these life experiences! And I hate Mean Voice.
In the end, I suppose all that really happened through this experience is that my pride took a hit and I was humbled again realizing that I, too, have really off days that are painfully refining. Ugh.
When I got to the conference, I heard the key note speaker and she spoke on a subject different than what I thought the conference was centered on. So I decided to adjust my session a bit. And then I realized that I had really geared my talk towards middle and high school girls (the conference started out just for them but then grew to accommodate all ages) and when I got into my breakout room, there were more post high school women than anyone else.
So I started talking and suddenly decided to change things up a bit to better reach my audience. This begins my train wreck. My organized thoughts suddenly became a mess in my head. My main points were scattered and I could see it in the eyes of the 50 or so faces looking back at me. I think pregnancy brain was also messing me up a bit. But I kept going. I tried to get it back together. But then Mean Voice started to talk louder. Mean Voice was seriously crowding my thinking saying not helpful things like, “tell me again why you thought it was a good idea to restructure this talk while giving it?” and “pretty sure you’re not saying anything insightful or new. You can tell everyone has heard all of this before.” And the more I battled Mean Voice, the more I sped through the stories I had to tell, the more I brushed over relevant points without giving each thought the depth I wanted to share. Mean Voice made me want to get out of there…fast.
In the end, my session concluded and the 50 women in there probably thought I was just a nervous communicator. But I knew better. I know that I had something to share and that I really botched it up.
It’s such a bad feeling. Rory was there watching Ivar and afterwards he took me out for a big chocolate chip cookie and we came home and pulled the curtains, watched a movie and I took a long nap. And when I woke up, I still felt crappy.
The crazy thing is that I know how human this is, and how normal it is just to blow it once in a while. So today I’m working on forgiving myself and finding the grace to do so. I’m trying to tell myself that this is just one experience and not to let this one throw me for future speaking opportunities.
But sheesh, I hate these life experiences! And I hate Mean Voice.
In the end, I suppose all that really happened through this experience is that my pride took a hit and I was humbled again realizing that I, too, have really off days that are painfully refining. Ugh.
I just got old.
I was shopping for an everyday top to wear that is easy to nurse Ivar in. Flannels seemed like the good choice, and when I tried this one on I found this tag. I think I officially became my mom when I read this. Keep the crinkles? Crinkles are in style?!! And by crinkles, you surely just mean wrinkles, right?!! Made me laugh. Didn't get the flannel. But at least now I officially know how clothing gets its wrinkles.
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