Another Fair Day

Today I went back to the Minnesota State Fair with Kyle and Cate. The original plan was for Kyle and I to ditch both kids and go on our own. But Cate begged and I relented (document that!) with some ground rules--she will not be carried and she will not whine.

We dropped Max off at Jeanine's house and we were at the U of M campus and on the bus around 11:30. Everything from the bus ride on was so exciting for Cate. Having her with us ended up as a benefit as it ensured that we would enjoy a slower pace going around the fairgrounds.

We ate:
*Footlong hot dog
*Brat with pepper and onions
*Chocolate malt
*Sweet Martha's cookies
*Cheese curds
*Pronto pup
*Tiny Tim mini-donuts
*Pizza bread
*Gelato

We enjoyed the livestock barns, the Sky Ride, the Giant Slide, walking through the many building and watching a couple of shows in the 4-H building and at a couple of free stages. We even happened to be walk opposite Al Franken and he stopped for a photo op with another family. Kyle took the chance to shake his hand.

Cate's favorite part of the day was getting a "Fair-do." I wonder what the parishioners will think when she shows up for Mass.

Me and Cate on the bus
The Jensen Family Snowmen
Cate and Kyle in the Sky Ride GondolaView from the gondola

The Giant Slide

An Al Franken sighting

Cate and her "Fair-do"

Madam Secretary

Well, I am slo-o-wly starting to follow in my Mom's footsteps at church. While I will never be able to give of my time and talent to the extent that she has over the many years, I am answering the call to do what I can.

Last year, I decided to attend the Visitation Council of Catholic Women (VCCW) monthly meetings as they finally moved from a weekday to a weeknight with the hopes that younger women of the parish might get more involved in their activities. The VCCW is the mover and shaker of most of the social and fund-raising initiatives within the parish (think guilds/circles, rummage sale, Christmas Bazaar, pie sales) and financially support mostly aesthetic / ambiance maintenance needs (think carpeting, new A/C, etc). My initial reason for attending the meetings was to become more aware of all the things these good ladies do for our parish.

Last year, the board lacked a President and Vice President so my mom presided over the meetings and everything was decided on by committee. The acting secretary was the last standing president and some monthly meetings were extended due to the need to repeat what was previously stated so all could hear and the details were properly noted. Let me tell you I was, and still am, by far, BY FAR the youngest meeting goer.

This year is the same set-up with one exception.

After attending and observing a few meetings, it occurred to me that I should be more than just an attendee. So at some point last year I told my mom if no one objected, I would be happy to take on the duties of secretary. She was so pleased and the acting secretary was more so. I think my attendance was pretty good with missing only one meeting, so I think I can continue on with such a responsibility.

This evening was the first meeting of the new fiscal year. I arrived ten minutes early and pulled out my laptop. All the ladies ooh'd. It was cute. But with my recording of the meeting, we cut our meeting time by, I kid you not, thirty minutes. I only had to stop once and ask a lady to repeat what she said. Additionally, the minutes are pretty much wrapped up and ready to print and deliver over to Mom's house on Thursday. What fun!

I told Kyle he now has to address me as Madam Secretary. He laughed...rather robustly at that statement. Not sure what that was all about...

Main line cleaning is about to begin

Whoo-hoo! I can't wait. I have been told the main line needs to be cleaned at it will take a minimum of two hours. Oh well, what can you do?

I hid all of the sins that an inadequate housekeeper has and managed to pick up the living room and dining room. The kitchen is what it is because I can't wash dishes at the present moment.

Anthony (the Roto Rooter savior) started asking where the main line cap was and I had no idea what he was talking about. He indicated it would be in the front of the house opposite from the primary pipe. This led us to the kids' play area. What a disaster that area is. There are toys everywhere! We scraped the toys away with our hands and I was red in the face with embarrassment. I profusely apologized and he tried to ease my embarrassment letting me know he has two kids too.

Then he asked to pull up the carpet. Yikes! What have we gotten ourselves into? He did find the line cap and he chuckled because it had the Roto Rooter stamp on it...from a visit prior to our time living there.

So here I am, in my "home office", waiting for my co-worker to bring me my work laptop so I can be virtually at work. Should be a noisy (and expensive) few hours...

Anyone know a good plumber?

We discovered at about 10:00 this evening that our sewer drain is backing up. Not the excuse I was planning to use to get out of doing dishes tonight. Looks like we'll be crashing my parents' house early tomorrow for showers.

Swell.

The Great Minnesota Get-together

Thursday was the first day of the Minnesota State Fair. This year, I went with my two sisters and we had a great time. Everything cliche about the State Fair is correct:

• just about every food is served on a stick (ironically, of everything we ate, only the pronto pups the girls ate were on a stick)
  
• there is a blue ribbon for everything
  
• it is a prime place for serious people watching
  
• you see everything from livestock to every possible radio station and tv station in the local area
  
• the politicians like to stomp

We covered a lot of territory in six hours. At the end of the day my feet were quite sore, but I can't wait to go back again.

Left to right: Jeanine, Jolene, me

Aussie Pride

Australian Battered Potatoes with ranch dressing and cheese sauce

The great Cheese Curd booth in the food building

The crowds never end

The brave faces trying the newest food at the fair: chocolate-covered pig lickers
Chocolate-covered pig lickers close-up
One of the many demo booths
Me and Jeanine taking a short break
A fascinating Blue Ribbon winner...seriously?
Already dreaming of a White Christmas

Mmmm, dessert

Kyle has had cheesecake on his mind all weekend long. There is no finer place in these parts than Cafe Latte on Grand Avenue. So this evening, we hopped across the river to enjoy dessert. I didn't have cheesecake, which should shock many people who know me. I opted for a double chocolate pecan torte, which you can't see under all the whipped cream. The cupcake was devoured by the children in short order. Yum!

There's no such thing as a magical lawn mower

I mowed the lawn today. It was the first time in at least six weeks. I'm not really sure why I bothered since there are only random tufts of green amongst a sea of dead grass. I guess I hoped that my lawn mower suddenly became magical and re-grew the lawn.

Back yard left
Back yard right
The front yard is not quite as bad

Bro Carl Says, "That Ain't Nothin'"

In response to a blog posted yesterday, my brother Carl e-mailed me with the subject header: That Ain't Nothin

See for yourself. Note his favorite blog-read on his computer monitor...

The Countdown Begins

Twenty-one days until Cate's first day of school. Three weeks.

We've been having conversations here and there about it and she is looking forward to going to school, but hasn't demonstrated real excitement. But then again, she is our daughter. Although, she did have fun going school clothes shopping Saturday and she would model everything saying she was such a "fashioniste" I would correct her and say, "you're such a fashionista!"

The calendar in her room is marked with a countdown, but she wasn't quite getting it. So this evening, I thought we should go old school and create a paper chain together so she has a better visual of the days remaining before she starts kindergarten.

On each link, I wrote a short note of things she can look forward to once in school: walk to / from school, learn how to read, be the teacher's helper, make new friends, etc. She taped them up and put a sticker on each one. She also helped decide where the chain should be hung. I made sure we made enough so she could open one up right away this evening. The first link she took off read: Be a good listener. We'll put all the slips in a bowl and review them as we go along.

I don't know who's more excited for Cate to start school, Cate or me!

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On a completely different note, my birthday is coming up at the end of October and I would really like a new camera with greater than three-megapixels. Thanks!

My Horoscope

My horoscope today reads:

You need a bit more structure than usual today, so find a good way to order your life such that it makes more sense to you. Things are going to keep getting better once you know what to expect.

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Taking a pause for a quick moment...thought I would show you what I walked into after lunch today. It occured to me that this is a visual indication to others how effectively I am in control of my workload...

Horoscope: So true.

Now back to work.

Phone Call From My Mom

Mom called me at work this morning. She calls often enough, so it's no big deal when her number is displayed on the ID:

Mom: Your son is really weird.

Me: Oh?

Mom: Yes. Your dad went to drop off the older boys and Cate goes along. I was busy doing something and came back in the kitchen, but Max was no where to be found. I called out, 'Max! Max!' And then I hear this little voice say, 'Wet, Grandma! Wet!' Do you know what your son was doing?

Me: No.

Mom: He was standing outside on the top step just on the other side of the door...in the rain!

Me: My little rain man...

Dinner and dessert

We hit a local neighborhood for dinner last night. I had a hankerin' for a little Tex-Mex, so we went to Pepitos. We had an enjoyable time and the food, as always, tasted great. Afterwards, we hit the local creamery...Pumphouse Creamery. Mmmmm, good!

Max scarfed his Fresh Blueberry Buttermilk ice cream down and Cate was willing to share hers.
What a perfect spot for a little tot to hide!

Max the Spaz

We can't seem to take Max anywhere without him having a temper tantrum. We don't know what to do. Cate didn't have "terrible twos" -- she's packing it all in for the teen-age years, I just know it -- so this time around, we are experiencing age two in all of its glories and frustrations.

Last night is a perfect example of one of his episodes. We went for pizza and Max was having a great time watching the chefs prepare the pizzas through the window. Our cheesebread order came up and we pulled him away from the window. Big mistake which couldn't be corrected. We left the restaurant as soon as our pizza was ready, so as not to ruin everyone else's dining experience. He screamed all the way home.

He continued to refuse to eat while at home. So Kyle put him in the upper bunk in the kids' room to chill for a while because he hasn't yet been brave enough to get down by himself. Sure enough he found his bravery last night and came right down the ladder. Miraculously, for a moment, it appeared he had finally gotten his frustration out of his system and was ready to eat.

But then we wouldn't allow him to dump all the grated cheese on his slice of pizza. Here we go again...

He became so exhausted from his fits, that I got him changed and into his own bed by 7:15 pm without dinner.

Unfortunately, after I left the house for the evening, Kyle had duels three, four and so on with him. Eventually he got Max to sleep. Eventually...

Three cool things about today

In no particular order...
1) The Twins took the lead in the AL Central
2) NFL pre-season has started
3) I finished my fourth 5K