I Love Rock and Roll...

"Put a Diamond in the Juice Box Baby, I Love Rock and Roll, Won't You Dance with Me -Owe"!!!!!

If I can video of Lucille singing this song and shaking her booty, I will add it this post - it's the best!

Life is Good

Life is good for several reasons...
~ The snow has melted and my tulips are starting to grow.
~ Lucille and Piper had ice cream for breakfast this morning!
~ Trent is a great kisser!
~ We have wonderful friends and great people in our lives.
~ Our parents and grandmas are healthy.
~ Old Dutch makes Dill Pickle potato chips - oh yea baby!

A Letter From Lucille

Lucille is sitting quietly at daddy's desk writing, cutting and taping things in her tablet. I am organizing Christmas clutter in the living room. I hear from the office "Mommy where's an envelope". I reply "Oh honey, I don't know where daddy keeps those. Just make one with your paper". I continue organizing and see Lucy skip up the stairs with her paper. I think nothing of it. Hours later she asks if she can check the mailbox. She returns with the saddest look on face. I asked her why she was so said and she told me that the mail lady didn't take her letter. I ask "What letter sweetie?". She tells me "The one I wrote to all the kids on the other side of the world". I stand there speechless and Trent explains that she may need one of his envelopes and a postage stamp. She returns and shows me her addressed & stamped envelope and I see written in her handwriting:

To: All The Kids On The Other Side Of The World
From: Lucy 1077 Van Buren Street Shakopee the Black and White House

I asked her what the letter was about and she explained that Santa had already been to our house and he was on his way to the other side of the earth and she wanted to let all the kids know he was coming.

I love you Lucille Susanne, you make my heart smile!

Christmas Traditions

These Norman Rockwell pictures always give me that warm, fuzzy, Christmas tradition feeling -in other words - they get me in the gooch...

Trent and I started a tradition, about 12 years ago, of watching National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation on Thanksgiving. We watch that movie just about every weekend, even if it's just background noise, all the way through Christmas. "You're little twinkling lights aren't twinkling Clark"...I LOVE THAT MOVIE!!!

It has also become tradition to freeze our butts off at the Holidazzle Parade.

On Christmas Eve, we cook a HUGE breakfast for dinner. This became a tradition because just have something small like cinnamon rolls or bagels Christmas morning and who doesn't love breakfast food for dinner?!?!? After our breakfast dinner, we play games, look at old photo albums and tell stories. The girls each get to open one gift, usually pj's or a game. We read the Polar Express and set out cookies and milk before bed.

In the morning we wake up super early and sneak down stairs to see what Santa left under the tree. After Santa gifts and stockings, it time for much needed coffee and rolls. We then take our time opening the packages under the tree.

It has been tradition for many many years to go to my grandma's house Christmas day. It was a hard decision, but we have started a new tradition of staying home in our pj's Christmas day playing with our new toys, watching A Christmas Story and napping!

Gratitude

I am grateful for my loving husband and our two beautiful girls. I give thanks for our health, happiness, family & friends, and for all the blessings we have received through out the year.

Peace & love,

Angie

PGA Chanhassen MN

Lucille and daddy can spend endless hours lounging on the couch watching golf.

Lucy can tell you who's who and if daddy is out of the room she will run around the house shouting out play by plays and stats "Dadda - Tiger made it in the hole!" or "Ah rats - Mickelson missed the putt".

So when the PGA came to Minnesota, Lucy and Trent went on a field trip to Chanhassen.

They parked at the Canterbury Race Track and took the shuttle to Hazeltine Golf Course.

To minimize the noise on the course, cell phones were not allowed. Well Mr. Stern was so giddy that when he left his cell in the truck, he also left his wallet. As Lucy and Trent were walking the loooong walk to Grand stand, Trent was asking Lucy if wanted ice-cream and a bottle of water when he realized that he forgot his wallet! A golf course marshall over heard what happened and saw the sad look on Lucy's face. He walked over and gave her five bucks and said "go get yourself an ice-cream!". So sweet!

She had a fabulous time and told stories of watching Tiger Woods at hole Seven AND Eleven!!!

She proudly displays a PGA Tour 2009 Hazeltine Authentic Grounds Flag on her wall and will tell anyone and everyone about the time daddy took her on field trip to see the golfers!

Summer Vacation

For the last few summers, our dear friends Steve and Aleen, have invited us to their cabin in Crosslake, MN for a family vacation. This year we stayed at the cabin over the Fourth of July holiday for ten days. Ah...complete and total relaxation.

We spent our mornings sipping coffee, listening to the loons, and reading Michael Jackson tabloids on the porch while the girls played on the beach, and spent our endless afternoons on the dock soaking in the sunshine wondering if it was time for another snack or another cocktail or both.

We watched the fireworks from the pontoon on the lake, fished, took several boat rides to sand island, water skied, played Rock Band, shopped, walked, biked and ate and ate and ate.

It was a perfect vacation.

That Kindercare Expense is Paying Off...

Last weekend while sitting in Dairy Queen in Cross Lake, Piper says "I know what that sign says", as she points toward the bathrooms.
I said "oh really, what?".
Piper tells me it that it says 'Rest Room'.
I looked up and sure enough it said Rest Room!
I asked her how she knew that, and she said "I just sounded out the letters".
She then told me that the sign over the door said 'Exit' and the sign over there said 'Food', oh and the one over there says 'Hand'!!!!!!!!!!!
I jumped over table and kissed and hugged her with tears streaming down my cheeks!!!
Piper asked "why are you crying", and I just hugged her and told her that reading is very very exciting and it is just as exciting as when she took her first steps!!!
After DQ, we went grocery shopping. When we got to the store, she said "Stop! I want to read these words". So we stood in the entrance as she sounded out 'Reed's Market'. She slowly sounded it out and and said "what's a market?"!!!!!!!!!!
We had a blast in the store reading labels and signs - I am so proud of her! - I LOVE YOU PIPER SUSANNE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Bedtime Doodles

The girls enjoy doodling on their Doodlepads at bedtime.
Lately, they have been drawing bedtime pictures for me. They leave their masterpieces outside their bedroom doors for me to see when I go to bed. It makes my heart melt every time.
Here are a few of my favorite doodles:

I love you to the Moon and Back, by Piper









Rainbow, by Lucy









Ducks Quacking, by Piper









Licorice Man, by Piper

Pumpkin, by Lucy

Disco, by Piper









Under the Sea, by Piper

Oh Chewy...

While at the pet supply store getting our fat cat his special and expensive diet food, I thought getting the girls a little pet of their own was a brilliant idea. We wandered over to the small animals and the teddy bear hamsters caught our eye. We picked out a cute fluffy white one, but the clerk told us she was pregnant and that we should pick out a different one. So the girls picked another white one, but I was little nervous about pregnant white hamsters, so I talked them into bringing home the beige one. We picked out a super fun cage with tunnels and wheels and all the crucial supplies needed to keep the little guy healthy and happy. By the time we reached the check out counter, the hamster had chewed through the travel carton. The clerk transferred him into another carton and by the time we reached the van he had chewed through that one as well. I transferred him into a plastic exercise ball and away we went. On the ride home we asked the girls what we should name him. They both agreed on Chewy!
We made space for little Chewy up on Lucille's dresser and girls had a great time watching him eat, spin on the wheel and travel through the tunnels. They had slumber parties in Lucy's room and giggled while Chewy ran and ran and ran in his wheel. By the third night, Lucy asked if we could move Chewy because he ran too much and the ruckus made it hard to fall asleep.
On the third day I couldn't handle the stink coming from the cage any longer and decided it was time to clean it out. While cleaning it, I realized that the cage itself wasn't all that stinky, but Chewy was unbearable. That night I told Trent that I had buyers remorse and didn't think I tolerate eau de Chewy and cleaning his cage every three days. We tossed around the idea of Trent developing a strange allergic reaction and having to bring Chewy back, or maybe Chewy could look sick and would have to go the doctor...
The next morning I did a little research on the ol' internet and discovered that I could buy some Wet Wipes for small critters to give them a sort of sponge bath and if I kept the cage clean, the odor should be minimal. The internet did mention that IF it was a girl and she was in heat, the female hamster would be quite stinky during this time and it would pass.
After a lot of thought, I decided to keep the little dude and I would just have to buck up and be a responsible parent and make the best of the situation. I mean, IF she was girl in heat, at least we didn't have another male hamster to knock her up.
That evening when we got home we went straight to Lucy's room as usual to say hi to little Chewy. I noticed that he was still in the top tower where he had been the night before. I also noticed that he dragged all of his bedding up there along with every bit of food that was in the bowl. I said "oh you like it up there don't you Chewy?". The girls couldn't quite see all the way in the tower so I brought the cage down off of the dresser for the girls to see him sleeping in the tower. As we peered into the tower we realized he wasn't sleeping and he was...he was...he wasn't a boy hamster at all...he was having BABIES...OMG CHEWY IS HAVING BABIES!!!!!!
LUCY "mommy look at the pink babies"!
PIPER "there are THREE babies"!
TRENT "what the"?
ME "he's not a boy, he's not a boy, he's not boy"!
LUCY & PIPER "is he ok..is she ok...are the babies ok?"!
We explain to the girls that Chewy is now a mommy and yes she and the babies are ok, but we need to call the doctor to make sure.
I step into the other room and call the pet store, aka The Doctor. I tell the girl on the phone that we just purchased a hamster the other day, and that what we thought was a boy is now a girl delivering babies! I tell her that we can not keep and momma and three babies and she tells me it's no problem just bring them in and I can either make a return or even exchange.
I hang up and return to the other room to hear and see Lucy jumping around screaming "THERE'S A BABY IN CHEWY'S BUTT, THERE'S A BABY IN CHEWY'S BUTT"!!!
Apparently there wasn't enough room for mommy and the babies in the tower and the babies kept sliding down the tunnel. Chewy went down the tunnel to retrieve the little one that slid down and when she bent over to go down the tunnel, Lucy got a clear view of baby number four being delivered!!!!! OGM!!!!!!!!
We tell the girls that Chewy needs to go to the doctor to have her babies and maybe some day we can get another hamster that is for sure a boy. They say good-bye and away I went with a cage full of hamsters.
By the time I arrive at the pet store there are six babies. The poor momma keeps going up and down the tunnel to retrieve the ones that fall every time she gets back up to the tower and I am starting to feel queasy.
The girl at the pet store decides to move Chewy and the babies to a safer cage so she doesn't exhaust herself keeping track of the babies and to keep the babies from being gobbled up by their mommy! The girl then tells me that hamsters can have up to fifteen babies at one time and then she also mentions that when they are in labor they can get VERY stinky - oh really?!?!?!?
Then girl smiles and asks "would like to exchange her for a different one"?
I simply say "no thank you we've had our fun with hamsters".
That evening the girls and I snuggle into bed and talk all about Chewy and the fifteen babies and Piper says "see mom we should of got the other white hamster we picked out, but you picked the beige one with all the babies in it's tummy".

What!?! Preschool Graduation Already?

Little Miss Piper has graduated Preschool!!!

Piper and her graduating classmates wore construction paper caps and received Preschool Diplomas! They had a cute processional and very sweet ceremony. Afterward, we took photos and had refreshments. Piper has a thing about her hair (I wonder where she gets this from?) and will only wear a headband. No barrettes, no pony tails and certainly not a construction paper cap with a yarn tassel! As you will see in the pics, she is the only one not wearing the hat and when I made her wear it just once - she was not thrilled.

It almost seems that she has become a Little Girl overnight. At five years old, getting ready for kindergarten, she is no longer our baby, our toddler, our preschooler.
She is our little girl.
Our sweet, beautiful, strong-willed, intelligent, sensitive, witty little girl.

I remember when she was just a few days old and I didn't want to think about her going to kindergarten because it was too far away. In just three short months my baby is going to kindergarten and I wish I was still rocking her to sleep in her nursery.

Puppy Clouds

Yes, I am guilty of using the dvd player in the van as a babysitter. Yea, yea, yea - before having kids I would see soccer moms tooling around in their minivans with their rug rats zoned out watching Toy Story and think "That's Crap! When I was kid ~ my brother, sister and I were crammed into the back seat of dad's piece of shit car with no air conditioning, crank down windows, fighting over who had to sit on the hump, while listening to WCCO. And we survived just fine".
Now that I have children and the luxury of the dvd play - hell yea I'm using it - because as a parent all we want is five minutes of peace and quiet!
Yesterday however I was 'Mean Mommy' and turned the movie off and made everyone listen to a little Acoustic Sunrise on Cities 97. There's nothing better than cruising along on a bright Sunday morning with a hot cup of coffee and Neil Young Long May You Run on radio.
While cruising along, Lucy hollers out "A puppy! There's a puppy out my window"! Then Piper says "It's a poodle"! I quickly look around to see if I'm going to hit the poor little thing and say "I don't see it girls". Lucille then say's "mom he's in the clouds by the hamburgers". I looked up and sure enough the clouds did look like puppies and hamburgers. For the rest of our trip we looked for cloud animals and played the alphabet game and say songs ~ kinda like when I was I kid in my dad's piece of shit car.
I'm sure when the girls grow up they'll remember how they had to sit a spacious minivan with their own seats, and their own temperature controls and automatic doors and windows with a dvd player and headphones and complain about how sometimes I would make them listen to Folk music!

Smelly Cat, Smelly Cat, What are They Feeding You...

Lucille and Grandma Deb

K~not exactly the Smelly Cat Song at Central Perk, but sitting in our local coffee shop listening to my mom sing and play guitar does remind me of Phoebe from Friends.

My mom has been doing The Sunday Jam for years and is now in spot light at our local coffee shop, The Coffee Bean. I love going to the Sunday Jam but it makes for long Mondays, so the little ladies and I have been hanging out at the coffee shop lately. The girls love it! We sit at the special "reserved" table, and the owner of the shop always has juice boxes and hot from the oven cookies ready for the girls. Piper and Lucy bring coloring books & markers from home and sit just right so they watch grandma and color at the same time.

Last weekend at the coffee shop, Piper said to me"your mom is a really good singer and her voice is so pretty, how did she learn how to sing like that?" while giving me the look like what the hell happened to you and why didn't you get any of that talent?

Hey - I've got talent! I can tie a cherry stem into a knot without using my hands - so there!

Many Ducks (like that Renae?)

We have discovered a great trail on the Minnesota River here in Shakopee. About three weeks ago we went to the "Helicopter Park" as the girls call it. It's actually Veterans' Memorial Park in Shakopee next to the Chamber of Commerce and Dangerfields on Highway 101, but I like Helicopter Park better. This little spot is home to hundreds of ducks and geese. On this particular day, there was a guy out there with a 5 gallon bucket of corn feed letting all the kids feed the birds. It was a blast and we have been back every weekend since. On our last adventure the girls invited their friend Ellie. They had a great time feeding ducks, climbing trees, racing down the trail, and looking for "bear tracks"...and I peed in the woods...ah nothing like getting back to nature!

Maybe not Gumdrops, but definately Rainbows

After several months of temperatures lingering below freezing and many days well below zero, we were blessed with a weekend in the 40's!!! Saturday morning we wasted no time getting to the sledding hill. The hill was in perfect sledding condition and sparkled like diamonds in the suns rays. Standing at the top watching the girls, I was thinking to myself "this is so fun, I wish I had a camera and my sunglasses, boy it is really sunny, and the snow is so sparkly and I really wish I had some sunglasses, and...".
Just then, Piper hollered from the bottom of the hill "Mama! Quick! Come here!". Thinking she was injured, or even worse...she could have snow in her face-oh no, I ran to the bottom to rescue her.
She is all smiles and says with overflowing excitement "Mom! Lay on my sled with your head this way".
"Okay", I laid down on the sled with my head just so.
"Now Mom, look way up in the sky and see the rainbow"!!!
I'm thinking, "Oh cute, we're pretending there are rainbows - I love rainbows - this is super cute!"
I looked up into the bright clear blue sky just as she instructed, and there it was! In the the middle of the vast blue sky was the most brilliant rainbow ever!! I laid there with tears streaming down my cheeks.
"Do you see it mama"?
"Yes sweetie, I really see it"!
I laid there with tears of pure joy because if not for this beautiful, bright eyed, little girl, I would have missed the secret rainbow in the sky.
"Thank Piper", I whispered.

Reality Check

Just so you don't think it's all rainbows and gumdrops, I thought I'd share this one with you.
I was picking the girls up from preschool yesterday, and it was all hugs and kisses and I missed you and love you and all that great stuff. After looking at all their projects for the day, and reading their activity board, and discussing their new topic Animals and how some of them hibernate and so on, it's finally time to get jackets on and head home. Lucy runs to the coat rack on the other side of the room and hollers across the room full of teachers and classmates, "Mom, how come at school you always smile and laugh and at home you are always mad?". Piper chimes in, "mmm...maybe because we don't listen and we fight and mom gets frustrated and she doesn't use her words". A teacher and I made eye contact as if to say "yep, that is exactly it my dear"!
Ah...Good Times!