Jensens' 6021 Ramblings

LION KING

2012-01-21T11:19:00.002-06:00

This is Cate and I think this is the best musical I've ever seen. It was great.

Aunt Jeanine was sick, so she gave the tickets to Grandma and Papa, but Grandma couldn't go because she had a different plan to play cards. So she dropped them off at our house so Daddy and I went to see the Lion King.

When Daddy told me what we were going to do, I was very excited! I decided we should go to Panera for dinner. We dressed up fancy for the musical. I think Daddy was handsome.

I think other people should go to the musical, the Lion King.

My favorite part was the beginning. Some people in an elephant suit came down the aisle next to us! On the other aisle, a rhino came by with a string of birds on the back! There were people who were pretending to be goats on the balcony for the beginning. They were at the very beginning because they were the first to come out. The giraffe people were on stilts on their hands and feet. There was a cheetah person--he was cool! I really, really loved the beginning. I wish Mommy could see it. Zazu was a puppet and he was white instead of blue like in the movie.

I want to go on a Cate and Mommy day for the next adventure.

Another Year Has Ended, A New One Has Begun

2012-01-03T17:26:00.003-06:00

This was the first year we allowed the kids to stay up to ring in the New Year. In years' past, we have celebrated with another couple or with other family members, but since we recently returned from a traveling Christmas vacation, we laid low and stayed home.

Kyle grilled steak and we paired it with green beans and fresh, warm bread. Since it was a special evening, the kids helped me dress the table with a tablecloth, complete with cloth napkins and our finest dishes and glassware. We even brought out small cordials so the kids might enjoy some sparkling white grape juice, which was received with, "Ooh! it tastes spicy!" and "I don't like the bubbles, Mom!"

After dinner, we busted out Max's new set of dominoes and played Mexican Train. It was Max's first time and he picked up the gist of the game pretty quickly. He preferred to help others out forsaking his own line when he had a chance to play something better. There's no competitive spirit built up within him yet. In due time, I'm sure.

We enjoyed dessert of chocolate cake and cheesecake, then proceeded to watch Cate and Kyle shake an arm or something slightly recognizable as dance to Wii's Just Dance 3. And sure enough, we couldn't have the countdown without turning to Dick Clark's Rockin' New Year's Eve Countdown. Once it hit midnight, the glasses clinked, Lady Gaga and Justin Bieber were sighted and the kids were then promptly sent to bed without complaint. For the next day, we were opening our home to guests.

Every January 1, for what I believe has been six years now, we have invited a small group of family and friends to enjoy an Ebelskiver Breakfast and Aquavit to toast in the New Year. Unlike last year, when we ran out of key ingredients before the kitchen officially closed, we made sure we had enough to feed those who stepped in the door. This year, we made brunch for twenty-four, including ourselves. The newest attendees were Kyle's friends Shawn and Kristen with their daughter Ivy, who is a sweet little girl.

The first arrivals were quickly put to work. Jen and Tim helped lay everything out and Tim was supreme bacon fryer until the first batch of Ebilskiver was ready. Then everyone else slowly made their way over and over the course of four hours there were three Aquavit toasts to the new year. We closed the kitchen at two.

The Coleman family stayed the afternoon and we all played the day away. The grown-ups played Mexican Train, which became increasingly more strategic as the rounds went on. Max & Colleen put together an impressive pet store in Max's room and the three older kids scored high on Just Dance 3 and dug into the Legos, breaking only for lunch.

Friends, family, food, drink, games, laughter, and taking it easy. All in all, it was a great close to one year and beginning to another.

Slip sliding away

2011-12-16T23:12:00.000-06:00

Whoa--where did the year go? Blink and all of a sudden, it is two weeks before the end of the year and we have only posted about a dozen times. It's not to say stuff hasn't been going on in life. Rather, it's been going on so quickly, it's hard to take the time to post something about it. That and I probably updated my status and added a photo, so most have a pulse on what's on my mind already without appending a blog post.

But here I am, at what seems to be the final sprint to the last day of the year. I have a love / hate relationship with this time of year. It's wonderful to see family, celebrate with friends and take in the delight of the children when they open their presents and still believe in Santa Claus. But what I don't care about is the commercialism, the over-scheduling, the depersonalization of list making and errand running, expectations of being somewhere one doesn't want to be, losing sleep, scraping windshields, the dark mornings and dark evenings.

Like so many of us, we forget to slow down, listen and just observe. Take in the sounds and scents of the season. Stop and take in each other's presence, not worry about the presents.

Just be. For it's all just slip, sliding away.

Things you can do with old coffee tins

2011-10-11T21:12:00.007-05:00

My sister enjoys General Foods International coffee that come in those cute little red and white tins. She started saving them for me because I hoped to recycle them into cute little candy / token holders or some other crafty keepsake. For Cate's first communion, I did manage to bust out nine of them to use as vases, but since then, I have kept accumulating but not crafting.

Last night I found another purpose for six more of those cute little tins.

We have been working with the kids on managing chore charts. They receive allowance for all the smiley stickers they put on their worksheets. Some 'chores' are easy: brush teeth (duh- have to do that daily!) and others are a little more stinky such as collect garbage or take garbage out. When they hit their daily chores (make bed, brush teeth twice) and hit more than half of their other chores --we live a busy life and don't have consistency from night-to-night--they will get paid out their weekly allowance.

At a family meeting (yes, we have those!) the kids were open to go with the spend, save, share method. There are some pretty awesome kits out there to purchase, but that seemed a bit frivolous given the basis of this approach. We can give the kids an active experience by making our own banks. That's where coffee tins, some scrapbook paper, glue, ribbon and sharpie came in.

It took all of 15 minutes to complete including kids choosing their own paper and ribbon. Now they are proud to see their little quarters already adding up.

It will be fun to continue the conversations as the tins get fuller and see what ideas they can come up with to share their treasure. I'm sure they will come up with some great ideas. I'll keep you posted.

What season is it anyway?

2011-10-07T17:33:00.005-05:00

Not sure quite what's going on with the weather here in the midwest. We had record snow levels this past winter. We were robbed of a steadily warming spring in exchange for rain--a lot of it. Summer arrived and that was more or less lovely, and now my favorite time of year is coming to a close with nonsensical temps. In fact, Wednesday saw a high temp of 88 degrees breaking a 132-year-old record. We haven't seen significant rain in weeks. The BWCAW has been ravaged by wildfires, taking out over 90,000 acres in two months. Due to the winds today, the entire state of Minnesota is under a fire threat making it a ticketed offense to set up a campfire.

Our grass went dormant in late August; the leaves that were on the tree up until today wilted a while back. We can't seem to get to the first frost in the area, so the kids' allergy suffering bears on. Cate stayed home today dependent on her inhaler to avoid getting seriously ill. On the bright side, the weeds even stopped growing and we had a banner year with our tomatoes and jalapeno peppers.

Given the weather pattern we had this year, the fall colors are said to be the best showing in over a decade. A friend and I went to Bluff Country in the southeastern part of the state last weekend. Even though the leaves weren't peak yet, there were a lot of breathtaking views. I can only imagine what it looks like this week. We hit the bike trail between towns and enjoyed rolling over the crunchy leaves, but did not enjoy practically wiping out on the black walnut fruit scattered on the path.

Tomorrow, if the wind has died down, I and the kids will start raking. There will be multiple jumps in the piles before we bag it all in. I believe it's the only chore they don't complain about doing.

Mothering advice from an eight-year-old girl

2011-06-13T21:27:00.014-05:00

I will disclose up front that my kids are amazing. We are so lucky to have been blessed with such wonderful kids that don't cause a lot of trouble or undue stress. So when we do have what we consider difficult days, we (I can confidently say it's not just me) can fly off the handle.*

[*No children were harmed during my soon-to-be described temper tantrum.]

Yesterday was one such tricky day. The kids let us sleep in, which is normal for a non-workday, but while we were dozing, we could hear them playing up in Max's room. It wasn't a surprise to discover the room was a mess with stuffed animals strewn about along with bakugan toys and other miscellaneous 'crap.' When I walked in to put something away, my foot fell onto a wet spot. I didn't think too much of it as Max hasn't quite figured out that spitting is limited to a sink or outdoors. I began to remind myself to talk to him about this...when my other foot landed on yet another wet spot. This time, the wet spot soaked into my sock. I leaned down to touch the carpet and discovered several wet spots. I asked Max why the carpet was wet. His response (typical for a youngster) was, "I don't know." I repeat the question louder and more distinctly but garnered the same response. Again the intensity of my tone and volume increased to the point that I was yelling, nay, screaming. Eventually, Cate came in. Between the two of them and I screaming for Kyle to come in the room, they admitted they were playing with their Cars car wash (do NOT buy this for your kid!) and got water all. over. the. place.

In addition to patting down the floor with several towels, sorting between wet and dry stuffed animals, removing pink stains and glittery fuzz from the carpet, we discovered a few animals that got hair cuts at the hands of a five-year-old boy wielding kiddie scissors. Ugh!

We got through the rest of the day with the children acting like cherubs, thanks to Grandma and Grandpa coming over for seven hours. But as it came to be bed time, the sassy little personalities returned. I asked Max a couple of times to get his pajamas on and he didn't move away from what he was playing with. That is when Cate, sometimes demonstrating maturity well beyond her years, began to school me:

"You know Mom, maybe if you asked Max in a kind voice and with a smile on your face, Max would do what you asked him to do. Like this--'Max? Would you please go get your pajamas on? It's time for bed.'"

Sure enough, that little rascal got up and got his pajamas on.

So I said, "Wow! You're right, Cate! You're going to be such a great mom someday." She said, "Yeah, I know. Which reminds me, I should go write down that suggestion so I don't forget when I do become a mom someday." And off she scampered to her room to write down Rule #1 on 'How To Be a Good Mom' in her notebook.

I did take the opportunity to ask her, "So Cate, do you think if I use a pleasant voice and put a smile on my face when I ask you to do something, will you do it right away?" She said, "Oh yeah, sure!" I followed up with, "And may I remind you what you told me if you don't do it right away?" She again replied, "Oh yeah, sure!"

My first opportunity to test her came quickly.

This morning, we were back into work week / out-the-door-quick mode. Cate had yet to take her allergy pill. So I told her, "Cate, it's time to take your allergy pill." She grumbled. So I said, "Cate? Remember last night the advice you gave me? I'm talking in a pleasant voice with a smile on my face asking if you would please take your allergy pill. Now would you please take your allergy pill?" She straightened up and took it without further complaint.

And just to be sure, this evening, even when she got particularly grumpy, I was able to pull out the kind voice, a smile on my face and remind her once again of my request, she did what I asked her to do with no additional complaints.

Damn, she's good!

My last day of school

2011-06-08T15:54:00.008-05:00

This was an awesome year of school. This year I met 2 new friends,#1 Nikko, she has black hair, and she's the one in the blue dress by me (Cate).#2 Nikko's sister, Addison. She's the one behind me & Nikko. Nikko & I live close by each other, so we walk to & from school together & she will be my new BFF. Nikko will be my new BFF because my other BFF (Bella) is going to a new school, but Nikko will stay at Kenny school so that is why Nikko will be my new BFF through the rest of 2011 and 2012.

My mom says I have to write down my three favorite things about the school year:
#1 I really liked my second grade art projects.
#2 I liked the new books in media.
And #3 I really liked Ms.Hunter, my second grade teacher.

My Maxaroo

2011-05-24T23:07:00.001-05:00

Max is a funny kid. Some days he's trying so hard to be grown up like his sister, other days he's a tyrant and we wonder when the whining will stop. And then there are days like today--

It was pretty late once we wrangled the kids in the house to be bathed after helping Kyle plant one of the gardens. In order to get the kids in and out of the bath quicker, we promise to play two songs of their choice. His choices were both Justin Bieber songs: 'Baby Baby' and 'Eenie Meenie.' After getting him in pjs and into bed, he shot up and said, "I forgot something!" He stood up on his bed and wrapped his arms around my neck, hugging me tightly and turned to give me a kiss. "I love you momma. Goodnight!"

I love you too, little man!

Legofest 2011

2011-05-23T17:16:00.005-05:00

I have no idea how often the Legofest train pulls up into our neck of the woods, but sure enough, Kyle heard about it this year and informed me about it Thursday night. Friday, I was online ordering tickets for the whole family. I was totally bummed in the evening when Kyle was surprised I ordered four tickets, because, "I thought maybe it would be me and the kids and you might have some time to yourself." Shoot! If only I had known that was part of his grand plan as I would have personally been delighted to have some time to myself. Alas, I was committed.

We managed to keep mum about the big event and were able to use our 'surprise' as a negotiating lever during the day Saturday to get the kids to do whatever we needed them to do. Cate begrudgingly did and re-did her spelling words and sentences, Max's listening ears magically worked and even picked up a few things around the house.

Legofest was downtown, so we made a field trip out of it, including having our lunch downtown which required walking through the skyways. That in and of itself was surprise-worthy. Once we were close to the convention center, I told the kids to look around as there clues were showing up. People were leaving the center with LEGO bags, directional signs were posted and one of the digital message boards highlighted the ongoing events. I pointed to one such message board and said, "here's the surprise Cate!" It read: Minnesota Music Teachers Association Concert. She said, "Awwww, really? That's not a fun surprise." Max ended up figuring out quicker than Cate and on we went to Legofest--125,000 square feet of, well, LEGOs.

For me, it was more or less a glorified LEGO store visit which multiplied from a 30 minute visit to a 3-1/2 hour visit. But for the kids and Kyle, it was the best day ever. And that, my friends, is way better than some time to myself.

Although, I'll take Kyle's suggestion as an I.O.U for a future date.

(Kyle helping Cate with the final touches of her house that became part of the giant United States floor map)

(Max and Cate in the huge Lego construction pile [really, I wasn't cringing thinking of all the germs!])

(Max placing his tile to the wall mural)

(Looking very cool after their hair fest)

Pretty

2011-05-11T21:46:00.000-05:00

Even though it's blurry, this may possibly become one of my most favorite photos of Cate. She possesses such sweet beauty and innocence, yet at her age, it's already getting difficult to get a snapshot of her for she's becoming more camera shy.

Holy wookie, Uncle Carl!

2011-05-11T21:35:00.000-05:00

This is what Max thinks of the shirt (the one he has on in this photo) Uncle Carl, Aunt Claire and cousins sent him for his recent birthday...

A Sunday Trifecta in May

2011-05-09T18:08:00.013-05:00

Yesterday was an amazing day for our little family. Kyle turned 39 with little pomp and circumstance. I promised I would make up for it in the near future.

Most importantly, Cate received her First Communion at a beautiful Mass witnessed by the church community and 20 family members. I am pretty positive that Cate had the largest contingent of loved ones there out of the 10 First Communicants. It was so wonderful to sit across the way and exchange a glance or two from my parents, siblings and friends during Mass.

(the sixteen guests taking up more than one row of seating)

Cate impressed many by her reading of the Acts of the Apostles passage. One of the final pep talks I gave her before Mass started was, "now when you get up there, what are you going to do?" "I am going to read slowly, loudly and with excitement." Atta girl! A few parishioners stopped her afterward to compliment her delivery, which made me a proud momma.

She looked beautiful in her dress made by Grandma LaVonne and her shawl made by Grandma Katie. Other moms admired her ensemble, wishing they knew someone with that sort of talent.

She was reverent and well-behaved, and hardly twisted her face after taking the wine. One of the boys dramatically shook his head due to the distaste. We parents had a good chuckle at that.

(at the altar during Eucharistic prayer)

......

(Our little family)

(with her Godparents, Aunt Jeanine and Kristine)

After Mass, we hosted a reception at my parents' home and celebrated with mimosas, fruit, muffins, sweet breads, scones and parfaits. Young and old enjoyed themselves.

(Cate with her grandparents at my parents' home)

At gift opening time, Cate read all of her cards aloud, which delighted Grandma Katie and enjoyed all the gifts she received. Kyle and I followed the tradition started by my parents and gave Cate a children's bible. My parents gave her a rosary, which they plan to give all of their grandchildren on the occasion of their First Communions. She also received a Holy Spirit medal from her godmother Aunt Jeanine who purchased it in Rome back in 2004 when she was living in Europe. In addition to other wonderful gifts, she was excited for the cash and Target gift cards and was very eager to spend her money as soon as today. Fortunately, Kyle intervened and when she didn't find exactly what she wanted, he was able to convince her to not purchase anything "just because."

And because Cate's First Communion landed on Mother's Day (the third event to fulfill the trifecta), I made several floral arrangements for table centerpieces and gave them away as token gifts for all the ladies' homes. I recycled old International Foods Instant flavored coffee tins, wrapping them in scrapbook paper, trimming them with ribbon and filling them with tulips and roses. I was quite pleased with how well they came together.

Once we cleaned up after the party, delivered our Mother's Day cards, Kyle and I took a nap as the kids watched a movie. It ended up being a very full day, but a very fulfilling day as well.

...and the birthday festivities begin

2011-02-19T21:50:00.001-06:00

Sent from my iPhoneCate turns 8 on Tuesday. This evening we celebrated her birthday with both sets of grandparents. Starting with their 4th birthday, the birthday kid gets to decide the menu. For the second year in a row, Cate requested grandma LaVonne's homemade chicken noodle soup. Instead of grandma Katie's homemade bread, Cate requested her to make a chocolate cake. Katie used to decorate cakes for a caterer about 25 years ago, so it was a request she happily accepted.

Cate's other requests for her party was to have dinner by candlelight and have french bread from the store, so she made it really easy for me and Kyle.

Our dinner was simple, yet fantastic. At the end, I asked Cate to clear her plate. Much to my pleasant surprise, she decided to clear everyone's dishes.

After we sang 'Happy Birthday' and the candles were blown out, she toom requests for choice of ice cream and passed out all the desserts.

She received many lovely gifts--some clothing from the Jensen grandparents, a homemade dress from Grandma Katie and 'Grandma' (aka: Great Aunt) Jane, a sweater from Godmother Aunt Jeanine who couldn't make it, a homemade blanket-in-a-pillow and stuffed monkey (think: sock monkey, but bigger) from the Iverson grandparents. Withput being prompted, she read allthe cards aloud and said 'thank you' after each gift was opened.

The kids went downstairs to play while we grown-ups visited for some time. When bed time came, Cate came up, gave each of her grandparents hugs and kisses and said one more 'thank you!' to all before quietly going to bed.

I denote all of this, because there are many days when I wonder if Cate ever pays attention and listens to instruction on manners. Well, clearly she does and I couldn't be more proud of how grown up my soon-to-be 8-year-old is becoming.

We still have some more fun planned in upcoming weeks. Monday is her actual birthday and, since it fell on Presidents' day, she doesn't have school. So we are all going to have fun together. I foresee PeiWei and Punch Pizza in the near future.

In a couple more weeks, Cate has her two best friends coming for a sleep over. I anticipate that to be a rambunctious time.

Like mother, like daughter, the birthday partying never ends!

Cate's diorama project

2011-02-06T13:39:00.000-06:00

Sent from my iPhone
Shortly after Cate went back to school after winter break, she came home with her first major project. She was to read a book, provide a written report and create a diorama of her favorite part of the book.

I never had to make a diorama during my years as a student, so I was looking forward to working on it with her. I thought with my mad scrapbooking skills and her artistic flair, she would deliver a phenomenal final project.

In the end, I wonder whether it became more my project than hers. She drew out her four main characters, three dresses on hangars and cut them out. From my scrapbooking paper, we found "wood flooring" and green "wallpaper". She used a bed from her playmobil set, glue-dotting it to the floor Because the illustration in the book showed a rug, we conveniently used a little rug she knit for her stuffed kitty.

And that is when I went cuckoo.

I blade cut a door, drew panels on it. Cate put a pearl sticker on it for a 3-dimensional door knob. Behind the open door, Cate selected yellow "wallpaper" for the hallway. And because the book illustration included a framed picture on the wall along with a window, I found a scrapbook paper photo frame, Cate drew the same picture, setting it in the frame and gluing it to the wall. I then blade cut window panes, setting "sky" scrapbook paper behind it to show off a clear, sunny day. I showed Cate how to pleat tissue paper. Using a tiny hole punch, I slit through a toothpick for a curtain rod and hung that up.

As for the fairy, Cate added a few rhinestone dot stickers on the wings. I hung her up with fishing line and secured through a tiny nail puncture at the top of the box.

Her three girls were trickier to set up. Kyle came up with using nails punctured up from the bottom of the box and taping the girls to the nails on the blind side.

We had to make a hang bar for the three dresses. Cate glued the hangar dresses onto a wooden skewer which I then hung from the top with fishing line.

I was *this* close to adding a white floorboard and chair rail.

Kyle then helped me wrap the entire exterior with fairy gift wrap.

I hope we get an 'A'.

Thanksgiving by Catherine Marie Jensen

2010-11-25T16:01:00.006-06:00

I'm thankful for: chicken drumsticks, seasons, water, Christmas, Valentine's Day, Thanksgiving, Rainbow Magic books, weather, peace, Gary, healthy foods, the Jensen Family and the Iverson family, Earth, parents, my brother, Jesus, movies, God, the Holy Spirit, friends and E.T.

From our home to yours, Happy Thanksgiving!

wonderful buffet of goodness

the kiddie table

the elder table

First Snow of the Year

2010-11-13T08:05:00.002-06:00

We woke up to find snow on the ground this morning. I had the pleasure of telling the kids to look outside. I opened the shade and both kids said, "whoa! SNOW!" Max said, "I wish I could sleep outside on the snow. That would be AWESOME!"

Cate wasted no time saying, "Let's go play outside!" I don't think I've ever had the cartoons on TV voluntarily turned off as early as they got turned off this morning.

Then chaos ensued. "Mom, where's my snowpants?" "Mom, I can't find my mittens!" "Okay, now I need my boots!"

I wasn't quite prepared for the first snow (surprise!) so while the kids got in their clothes, I scavenged the basement for critical outerwear: mittens--check! too small snowpants--check! boots, boots, boots....aw shucks! Last season's boots were donated already. Oh well. A to-do for later on today, I guess.

So out they went this morning, well before 8:00am. I'll get the water kettle going for the necessary hot cocoa upon their re-entry and flip the TV on to my channel while I enjoy the solitude the first snowfall brings.

On Being Thankful

2010-11-12T20:04:00.002-06:00

At dinner, we were talking about a friend's mom who has come in town and staying through Thanksgiving. So I asked Cate what she was thankful for.

Cate: "I am thankful for Mom and Dad and Max."

Me: "Max. What are you thankful for?"

Max: "I am thankful that Christmas will be the next day from Thanksgiving."

Cate: "Oh! I'm also thankful God gave me the gift of art."

After a pause, Cate continued: "I wonder what Max's gift from God will be."

Me: "Maybe he will have the gift of cooking."

Cate: "I sure hope it's not the gift of talking!"

Watching Twins in Post-Season

2010-10-09T20:27:00.002-05:00

Calls for fondue and LOTS of wine.

Liar, liar

2010-10-09T19:40:00.003-05:00

I was at work late Thursday afternoon when I got a text from a mom of Cate's "BFF". It read, "Cate and [BFF] got into a lil trouble at after school program :) did u hear?!" Uh-oh. When I got a hold of the BFF's mom, she said Cate asked her BFF to tell the teachers in the after school program that she was going home sick. From what was relayed, Cate said she wanted to walk home and surprise her dad who took a vacation day to take care of Max. When the mom went to pick up her daughter, the site coordinator informed her of what happened and the BFF acknowledged the real story that Cate asked her to tell a story and that she wasn't really sick. Lie #1. This was not good.

When I got home from work, I mentioned to Cate that her BFF got in trouble for lying. Kyle then told me that the site coordinator called earlier asking about Cate's whereabouts at the same time she walked in the back door. When Kyle asked Cate why she came home instead of going to the after school program, she told Kyle that she forgot because she thought it was Tuesday (the day she normally walks home from school). Lie #2.
This really wasn't good.

It seems that she's a little young to be concocting such stories. Needless to say, we had a long conversation with her and dealt out her punishment--1: apologize to her BFF, 2: the planned playdate with another friend on Friday was postponed.

How would you / do handle your child if he / she lies?

Push the code, PUSH IT!

2010-10-06T07:04:00.003-05:00

I have to admit, it's sort of fun to be up with the IT crew during code push projects. Next time, I hope they don't wait until the day before to ask for Business to come early for validation. I got my butt into the office at 4:30 and thankfully all but one of my projects are running as expected. It's amazing how much I've learned about e-commerce in the past couple of years. As much as I can gripe from time to time, I really do love my job. I hope you love your job too.

www.shopnbc.com

Natural Art

2010-10-03T21:02:00.006-05:00

Step 1: Have daughter layout and inspect the leaves...
Steps 2 and 3: Create colorful leaf rubbings and display in a frame...
Step 4: Preserve the favorites by leaf pressing...

Step 5: Impress daughter with creative juices courtesy of gooooooooooogle.

The BEST Time of the Year!

2010-10-02T19:33:00.005-05:00

We trekked along the Mississippi River to enjoy the absolutely gorgeous fall colors, selecting the best leaves to bring home. It's a day like today when I wish I had a high quality camera (and the talent to go with it) to really capture the beauty we experienced today.

an original project from the FDR-era Works Progress Administration

After our walk, the kids were still wired while Kyle and I were a bit tired, so we decided to drive along the River Road which led us to Boom Island Park. Whenever I'm on Boom Island, many memories--some new, some old--flood my mind. My high school is a short distance from Boom Island, so much time was spent there when I was a teen. It's nice to be able to get back there with my kids and create more memories.

a great view of the Downtown Minneapolis Skyline from Boom Island

We Are All Together Again

2010-09-10T22:46:00.005-05:00

This week has been interesting to say the least. I did a number on my ankle on Monday when I tried to avoid a little dog that cut in front of me mid-stride. While it's still swollen and the color runs from a ghastly green to eggplant purple, I am starting to hobble along fairly well and ditched the crutches and air cast yesterday.

Wednesday came and Kyle went to Urgent Care as his nose swelled up considerably with no explanation. He was given a swift shot (of antibiotics) in the ass, a prescription for more antibiotics and told to return the next day if it didn't improve. After fevering through the night and the red swelling invaded more of his face, I took him back to Urgent Care Thursday morning which was quickly followed by a direct admittance to the hospital. We were told he would be in the hospital for at least a couple of days. He was treated with IV antibiotics and his blood sugar levels were brought back into a normal range.

Word got out quickly (hmm, I wonder who would've sent out the alert?) and Kyle received a few visitors and many electronic well-wishes. Kyle's parents were the very first visitors on the day. Kyle had hardly been settled into his room by the time they showed up, which was a pleasant surprise for Kyle. I brought Cate for a short visit with Kyle Thursday afternoon and, as we were rounding the corner in the main entry, I heard a familiar voice inquire about a room number for "Jensen." My mom and dad brought Max to the hospital for a brief visit with Kyle as well. A friend, Patrick Coleman, stopped by for a couple of minutes in between seeing his Pa (Grandpa) and going out of town. Kyle's Aunt Jane and Uncle Don sent mums and a fun balloon to brighten up his space. Both kids drew him pictures.

With the kids going separate places during the day, it worked out that my parents could keep Max at their house overnight, Thursday into Friday. He was very distressed that he couldn't come home withe me and Cate, but Mom informed me he got over it fairly quickly. Cate was sad thinking about her dad being in the hospital, but she managed to get through the school day just fine once she was distracted with school.

I spent the day with Kyle in the hospital today and around 1:30 this afternoon, the Infectious Diseases MD came through and confirmed Kyle was being treated for erysipelas, a strep infection that settles in the top dermal layer generally on the face. The good thing was the MD was pleased enough with Kyle's recovery that she signed off on discharge papers so we were out of the hospital before 4pm.

When we finally picked up the kids, Max was quite a talker and commented on the way home, "I was distracted today at Papa's house. Distracted means I was sad because our family was apart. But now I am happy because all of our family is together again this night."

Amen to that!

Yup, Awesome

2010-09-07T22:51:00.003-05:00

Went to my first game at Target Field today. It was a great, stress-free game (Twins win! 10 - 3), we had front row seats (on the second level) and it's just a downright gorgeous, brand-spanking-new stadium.

our submission to twins.fanchatter.com made it onto the big screen

first pitch

number one or number two?

my bum foot is finally up in the 8th inning

Corn Meal

2010-09-05T22:30:00.006-05:00

I think Max's favorite thing about summer has to be fresh corn on the cob. That little body has been known to take in three ears of corn. So whenever we go to the store, Max begs us to get corn and starts picking them out even before we can say yes or no. We've stopped saying no because he just sobs and who really can say no to a boy who wants a (starch) vegetable.

This evening we had marinated flank steak, roasted potatoes on the grill and corn on the cob. I will admit that I am still a novice cook, so I have to flip to page 380 in my Betty Crocker cookbook in order to remember whether I need to put the corn in before or after the water boils, how long I let the corn cook and whether it should be covered or not covered.

When Kyle said he was going to shuck the corn, I asked Max if he wanted to help. He jumped off the couch and said, "YES!" and ran out the back door. He concentrated very hard and peeled down three of the eight ears of corn, leaving Kyle to finish them off.

And to no one's surprise, all he wanted for dinner was corn.

Saturday Shopping Shuffle

2010-09-04T19:38:00.005-05:00

Just like everyone else, our money isn't covering as much as it used to these days; so recently we got on the coupon bandwagon for our grocery shopping. Traditionally, we have been convenience shoppers; buying whenever, wherever and whatever was convenient. Add onto that, we were not planning our menus, so when we got home at 6:15 in the evening, we would typically cave in to the idea of going out for dinner. This lack of imagination (and excess of laziness) was present on the weekends as well. There would be weeks where we would eat all three meals away from home.

So you could imagine when we sat down and itemized our spending, more than three times the amount of money was spent eating out than was spent on groceries. Sadly, it was not shocking to us, but it was definitely something we finally embraced. There is no way we could continue to spend our cash and eat the way we did if we wanted to support the kids' activities and classes.

I took to getting some thrifty advice from a friend / co-worker of mine. She's been a follower of pocketyourdollars.com for more than six months. She and her boyfriend were trying to better position themselves financially in order to buy a house. We met over brown bag lunches in my office the other day and she walked me through Carrie Rocha's site and gave me a few tips of her own.

Today was the second Saturday we did the mad dash around town. We first started out at CostCo to denote the cost of some items that made sense to buy in super size should the net price be worth it. We then split our grocery shopping between Cub and Rainbow after I painstakingly looked at all the specials, store coupons and manufacturers' coupons to get the best price on what we needed. Rainbow has a limited time offer for doubling manufacturers coupons on Saturdays. Needless to say, we used as many coupons there versus using them at Cub. At the end of the trips and one additional return trip because I grabbed the wrong pork chop package, we ended up with two-hundred dollars' worth of groceries for less than one-hundred thirty dollars. While it took the better part of the day to get everything accomplished, I think it was worth the effort.

My savings will continue to get better as I start to stockpile the coupon inserts and search out the online coupon specials. Bargain grocery shopping likely might become my new favorite hobby.

Which leads me to ask: what have you done to stretch your dollar further? what is the best deal you've ever gotten?

Drink This, Not That

2010-09-03T10:18:00.004-05:00

Alright...so a year ago, I realized and accepted I was back to being big. It has taken me another year to get worked up about it and have a desire to say good riddance to this big body. Ever again. With that, I am yet again an official card-carrying member of Weight Watchers. When I checked in on Saturday for the first time back at it, the gal noted, "Oh. you are a Lifetime member." I replied, "Yeah, I was a Lifetime member." She corrected me saying, "Once a Lifetime member, always a Lifetime member. Remember that. You'll get back to your goal weight." Judy's such a sweet lady.

I'm not going to get into the reasons why I feel more this time around than back in 2007 that this is the time I will lose the weight and keep it off. I just know my mind is clearer and more engaged with embracing a healthy lifestyle and maintaining better balance in my life.

I love my Caribou. Love, love, LOVE my Caribou. It grew from being a once every couple of weeks to an almost daily visit. I became such a frequent visitor they asked if they should have my drink ready for me to pick it up in the mornings. I politely declined and mentally noted that as a warning sign I was spending too much (money and calories) toward my love affair with Caribou.

Here's my old standard: Medium milk chocolate turtle cooler--640 calories, 35 fat grams, 74 grams carbs, 0 grams fiber. Weight Watchers points: 16

In recent months, I would have one of these daily. For a while, I even had a decadent almond croissant to go with it. I felt like I was "starving" by lunch, which was only 3 hours later.

My new standard: Small dark chocolate lite cooler--140 calories, 4.5 fat grams, 39 grams carbs, 10 grams fiber. Weight Watchers points: 2

Now, I will not restrict myself from ever having the old standard again; that would be disastrous. But I will save it for a real treat, such as my birthday, and savor it. Maybe I'll even put a candle on it and sing happy birthday to me!

Back to School and a New Adventure

2010-09-01T10:40:00.003-05:00

Cate went back to school this week. It's nice she's still excited to get back to school. I can't remember when I started dreading the first day of school--I hope that day is still a long way off for Cate.

She saved her new favorite dress for the big day. It's a jumper that was made by fabric Grandma Jane brought from Alaska. The fabric has all sorts of different colored galoshes printed on a black-ground. Grandma Jane and Grandma Katie sewed up the dress and included a short ruffle hem. Cate certainly looked adorable.

The first days of school seem to be going well. Her "BFF" Bella is in her room and several new children because the other local community school was dissolved in June.

After school on Mondays, Cate will be taking her first tap / ballet class. She's been waffling whether she wanted to take dance class for a while and she finally piped up the day before the final registration open house was to be offered.

I think she is the only one in her class with no prior dance class experience, but for her first class, I thought she did pretty darn well picking up on terms and positions.

She looks darling, if I do say so myself.

Summer and junk

2010-08-30T23:14:00.005-05:00

Blink and summer break is over. And I thought I would be posting updates of the fun we had as we were having it, but I guess that was not to be.

In short--it was a lovely summer. The a/c has logged in many hours. The kids are tanner, taller and bug-bitten. The grass is drying and dying. We are ready for school to be back in session--thankfully today was the first day of school.

So now that things are kicking back into gear, it seems life is coming back in order for me personally. I indicated in an earlier post about my unique diagnosis of premenstrual dysphoric disorder, of which depression is part of the package. Whether tied together or not, I developed full-blown depression over the past couple of years. Thankfully, I am dealing with moderate depression so the medication I have been taking the past two months coupled with therapy sessions are helping me feel "normal," balanced and in control.

What seem like simple, practical tasks were difficult or impossible for me to do, such as picking up the house, be productive at work, washing dishes, take a shower, have any desire to get out of bed. I gained a lot of weight because my eating habits were trashed. I didn't care what I looked like anyway. I couldn't put the kids to bed because I didn't have the patience to deal with them if they misbehaved. I wasn't interested in playing with them or be in the moment. Even when I was in a room with others, I felt alone. I just couldn't understand how this was happening to me and I didn't know how to fix it.

Kyle did his best to help out. It took him a long time to see that something was wrong, yet it took me longer to realize just how bad it had become. How can anyone be depressed during the summer? There is no vacation just because the sun is out, I guess.

So in late June, I finally went back to see my doctor. Indeed the medication I had been on for the previous year-and-a-half lost its effectiveness or my condition evolved and wasn't meeting my new mental health needs. So she prescribed me something else and we discussed other options such as therapy. I was hesitant to seek therapy again, since my initial consult back in '08 was so disappointing. I didn't want to consult with other therapists who also felt I just had to get my shit together (like the initial psychologist more or less said to me).

Yet, it seemed that the medication alone was not going to help me move forward. So I did some more research and found a therapist who seems to be a very good fit. It's amazing what I've been able to accomplish since working with her in such short time. I always leave with one new goal in mind to address for the week and these goals have been building upon eachother such that I'm in a much better place now.

So yeah, things are looking up. I'm excited and hopeful for the next day, week and year(s).

Thanks for sticking around. I'll do my best to get back into blogging mode for you.

Some mornings I feel like this...

2010-06-21T16:32:00.003-05:00

Max is definitely my boy. He likes to sleep. I can only imagine what kind of bum he'll be when he's a teenager.

Bible School Program

2010-06-18T17:59:00.004-05:00

Last night Cate and Max participated in the evening Bible School program performance. As you can imagine, it's a review of what the kids have been learning throughout the week and showing off their newly learned Jesus songs. In addition to the entire group singing a song, each age group were featured. This being Max's first year, I'd say he did pretty well. Cate was super awesome. Not only was she doing all of the motions, her lips were actively moving and it appeared she was singing the correct words! Woot!

It was a special surprise for the kids to see Colleen (and her dad) Coleman was in the audience. The three traipsed off together after the program to seize a well-deserved ice cream treat. Sadly, the weather was a bit ominous, so they weren't able to enjoy the jumpy-castle.

you can see Cate in the large group, Max is hidden but standing next to her

Max (on left end with stripe shirt) and his orange group

Cate is front left...actually doing the motions...and her green group

Summer Break, Week 1

2010-06-16T16:48:00.003-05:00

This is the first full week of summer vacation and, boy, it is a busy one! We are all adjusting to a different schedule.

Our nephew Nick started his gig as our summer "manny." He'll be watching the kids three days a week. This first week is especially chaotic. With Grandma LaVonne's transportation skills, Nick is balancing both kids and making sure they're ready to be where they're supposed to be depending on the time of day. In the morning, both kids go to Bible School at the local Presbyterian church. Upon their return, Grandma prepares a quick picnic lunch before she takes Cate over to an afternoon park program.

Which means...Max has Nick all to himself in the afternoons. Next week, with bible school over, Max will be home with Nick all day long. Max couldn't be more delighted. It was very cute when Nick showed up the first day and while I was giving Nick the low-down, Max sidled over and slipped his hands into Nick's. He was so happy to have his big cousin over to watch him all day.

Last night there was a break in the gloomy weather we've been experiencing so we seized the opportunity to get the kids out on their bikes. Cate has been very anxious because we passed down to Max her bike from last year and the new bike she has was too high for her earlier this spring. But, after she whined, "I can't!", I was able to convince her to try to get on and go. Lo and behold, she finally tried and succeeded. Cate grew just enough for her tiptoes to touch the ground when she's on the seat. So she whirled all around the neighborhood streets in search of turtles. Max got on the hand-me-down bike with the training wheels back on and tootled down the alley and along the lake. By the time we got back home, he counted seeing 10 bunnies, 5 ducks and 1 turtle.

They slept well last night.

Thursday night is the program at bible school This is Max's first year at bible school and it will be such fun to see him up there performing with his new friends. Last year, he was not content to sit with the audience, so he snuck up to the stage with Cate and followed right along with the songs and gestures. He's already marching around singing random bits of songs and hailing, "Shout, A-MEN!" so I think he'll be ready. I'm very curious as to what will happen tomorrow night!

New Look

2010-06-11T02:39:00.002-05:00

While I was waiting for help on a work issue, I decided it would be fun to give my blog a refresh. I didn't do a Sarah Jessica Parker-remove-the-mole facelift. I did total body-Heidi Montag-plastic surgery, thanks to the new Blogger design template offerings. I think it has a cleaner, fresh look and layout. I intend to be making more frequent updates again, so I hope you enjoy and come back often.

Garden progress

2010-06-09T20:00:00.007-05:00

This spring, aside from our usual annual planting and perennial transplanting, we decided to add some produce to our garden. To make it even more family-friendly, we let the kids choose which fruit or vegetable they would like to plant and care for. Max chose cantaloupe and Cate chose cauliflower after we couldn't find any broccoli. Kyle and I ordered bell and jalapeño pepper plants from Cate's school plant sale.

The crop is looking good thus far into the season. We have fruit or flower on all plants already. We're very excited and getting impatient for harvest time.

jalapeno pepper
cauliflower

cantaloupe flower

bell pepper

A whole lot of reading will be going on here!

2010-06-04T23:38:00.009-05:00

Yesterday was the spring carnival at Cate's school. There were fun activities for kids to participate in such as the typical bean bag toss, the lollipop pull, and toss the pig. The kids were also able to enjoy the always popular jumping air castle and face-painting.

There was a good variety of food options, raffle, live music and a silent auction for gift baskets that each grade pulled together based on selected themes. Some of the themes were: movie night, the backyard gardener, game night, others I can't remember and the basket I had the winning bid for, "We Love to Read!" which was chock-full of goodies.

When everything got pulled out, we counted up 58 books, a book light, a bookstore certificate, coffee, tea, Bananagrams game, alphabet stickers, alphabet beads, a project book and a fantastic tie blanket I'm presuming was made by one of the parents. We got a fantastic deal for so many goodies!

This acquisition is especially timely because Cate is really ramping up her passion for reading. To keep some motivation up to read all summer long, I offered her $1 for every book she reads that's out of the basket we just got. That's a mighty fine take, I think.

I want to be sure she keeps her reading up early, so she grows into a life-long avid reader. Here's hoping for a fantastic imagination-filled summer!

She's on her way...

2010-05-25T09:13:00.003-05:00

Some changes have been going on in our larger family. Mom and Dad sold their house and we moved them out of 4408 this past weekend. Until they move into their new home, they are staying with my sister Jolene. But that's for a different post.

Since Cate has been in school, she has had mixed up weeks of where she goes when school is over. Three days she goes to the after-school program; one day she is picked up by Grandpa Ken and Tuesdays have been bus days. Until this week. Today is the first day Mom came over to our house to watch the kids. And Cate couldn't be more excited.

We've been building up to this moment for a long time. Today is the first day Cate is getting to and from school by herself. Ever since Grandma and Papa sold their house, we figured there would be some transition time and the possibility of Grandma watching the kids at our house was a high probability. As soon as we told Cate she wouldn't be taking the bus on Tuesdays, she asked if she could walk home from school. We said we'd think about it.

So last night we agreed she could do it. Then she upped the ante and asked if she could use her scooter to transport herself. I agreed thinking that she would get to and from school that much quicker.

This morning, she was up when her alarm went off and did everything she was supposed to do in order to get an early start. I wrote the note to her teacher informing her that Cate was going home to her Grandma--by herself. I remembered to include the home number just in case.

As we made our final preparations--scooter-check! helmet-check! lock-check! key for lock-check! Oreos-check!--I gave her one final pep talk:

Me: Okay Cate, remember...come straight home when school's out.

Cate: I know, Mom.

Me: And if your friends invite to play at the playground, politely say no.

Cate: I know, Mom.

Me: And come down the street you said you would because that's where we told Grandma you would be coming from.

Cate: I know, MOM!

Me: Okay. Be good and be safe. I love you!

Cate: Uh-huh. Bye!

And away she went, scootering down the street. A straight shot to school. Only two blocks. Watching her confidently go took my breath away. I don't know who grew up more this morning--her or me.

200th Rambling

2010-04-24T22:44:00.005-05:00

I will spare you from 101 - 200 of my random thoughts, although some other night I may do that. However, here's what's been happening since the last post.

After being sick so many times with terrible colds and pneumonia over the past couple of years, I finally took Cate to see a pediatric pulminologist. We had an extensive appointment, but it proved to be very educational and we have a new treatment plan. Additionally, Cate was able to get tested for allergies, although I had to pay her back big time for the unexpected blood-draw with a treat from Dairy Queen. Boy, did she milk that cotton swab and band-aid for sympathy!

The kids are very much settled in their own rooms. We moved our room to the basement--our family room is now a master bedroom / rec room / clothes folding room. This move occurred in February (if I recall correctly) and Max's bedtime habits have significantly improved. When the kids were sharing a room, it was a big slumber party every night. Surprisingly, they haven't figured out to run from room to room after we go downstairs for the night.

The winter thaw came in the earliest I think I can ever recall. We had no new snowfall in March and the snow cover was gone by the time spring was officially ushered in. We've been so blessed; I think I will have to remind myself of the one spring we actually got when we have snow on the ground this time next year.

This was the first time that the Easter egg hunt was outside at my parents' house. It hit almost 70 degrees that day. Cate was able to wear her sleeveless dress without her sweater for a good part of the day. It was such a gorgeous day. And yes, we were color coordinated for Easter this year.

Work is interesting these days. It's review time and this year seems to be particularly difficult. I thought last year was tough because we knew in advance we were not receiving any merit increase and our 401K match had been suspended. I don't recall when dental was pulled from us. We still don't have dental and haven't gotten our 401K match back yet. We will get a merit increase if / when we make goal numbers by the end of the fiscal year. Our merit increase should we be eligible for one, will be retro to the beginning of the fiscal year. It's a difficult message to share with my direct reports. But I will do my best to remain positive. Because it can always be much, much worse.

As I type, I've got laundry in rotation while Kyle puts primer on the dining room walls. Mom is coming over tomorrow to help Kyle paint in time to have a beautiful dining room for Max's birthday dinner on Monday.

Max turns 4 on Monday--I can't believe it! He doesn't seem as grown-up as Cate was at four years old. I have the day off so we can have a Mommy and Max day. I'm looking forward to having one special day with my little guy.

I'm sure a lot of other mundane things have been going on in our lives, but I sure can't remember it at the moment. Oh well, if things get interesting or at the very least, I think they're interesting, perhaps you'll see another blog post again in the near future.

Icky-sicky

2010-03-21T17:06:00.002-05:00

It's great that winter is moving into spring, but with the weather fluctuations we've had in recent weeks, we've got three sick family members under one roof.

Max and Kyle are dealing with colds. I can not believe how much can come out of Max's nose at one time. Ew!

Cate just can't seem to get rid of her pneumonia. We were in Urgent Care a couple of Thursdays ago; got a scrip for a five-day dose of antibiotics which didn't do the trick. We were back at Urgent Care this past Thursday where we spent three hours. Her condition had worsened and she added a double ear infection to her woes. I can not believe the amount of drugs they put in her little body in the time we were there.

Our at-home treatment is pretty crazy. She has one daily dose of steroids, one tablet, two daily doses of antibiotics, one double dose of a morning nebulizer treatment, followed by single dose nebulizer treatments three times throughout the day.

She also gets a chocolate kiss for taking her liquid steroid medicine because it tastes so gross.

Being so sick so many times is beginning to take a toll on her school attendance. I think her absence count is up to 20 days. I think I will jump for joy when the year comes that she is awarded with a perfect attendance certificate. Thankfully, she is a smart girl and thankfully her teacher is thoughtful to deliver Cate's homework to us. I just wish she was focused enough to bust through her work instead of breaking down and whining.

Per my friend's suggestion, I think it's time I start looking for a pulminologist to see if there are other treatment options or a more accurate diagnosis for Cate.

Knock on wood, I will remain healthy because I've been out of the office so much for the kids' illnesses, I really can't afford to be out of the office because of my own illness.

Here's hoping you are enjoying good health!

No more bedtime cuddles

2010-03-09T13:40:00.005-06:00

Max is definitely a big boy.

As Kyle helped Cate read her book, all four of us cuddled on her bed. After a bit, Max went to get his book, so he and I moved over to his room and laid in his bed while I read to him. When I attempted to cuddle and fall asleep with him, he said, "Move! I want just me to sleep here!"

Yeah, guess he's not scared of sleeping by himself anymore...

Crazy day brightener

2010-03-05T11:25:00.002-06:00

Earlier this week, an anonymous co-worker dropped off tulip pots to a select few who she thought needed a day brightener.

What a sweet thing to do!

My tulips are apparently wild children and grow in what ever direction they like. It appears I can look forward to three more stems in the near future.

Cate Turned Seven!

2010-03-03T22:28:00.005-06:00

We crammed in a whole lot of celebrating into one day as Cate turned seven a couple weeks ago. In the afternoon, four classmates, three cousins and one brother designed their own pencil boxes at Michael's Arts and Crafts. It was a great set-up...all we had to do was pick out the project, pull together the supplies, bring the cake and voila! The rest of the time was taken care of by the project coordinator.

In the evening, we hosted the grandparents, godparents and a surprise guest--Michael and Kristine's grandson, Anthony (5-1/2) who is one of Cate's buddies (and apparently first crush?). Cate's dinner request flattered her grandmas--she asked for Grandma LaVonne's homemade chicken noodle soup and Grandma Katie brought freshly baked bread. Yummy!

She received a lot of lovely gifts and we've been slowly working on getting the thank you notes out.

One especially memorable moment occurred at the end of the evening. As Kristine and Anthony were preparing to leave, Anthony grabbed Cate's hand and took her to her room for a moment. I stood in the hallway to look into the room, but they were in the blind spot so I couldn't see what they were doing. However, as they both turned to come out of the room, I could see both of them swipe their mouths with the back of their hand. That must have been one really special moment!

I told Kristine the next day that when they have their next sleepover, they need to sleep in separate tents. Too young, I say....too young!

Getting the boxes started

Look ma! I can paint without watching

Picking out stickers for the finishing touches

Star Wars Monopoly was a hit!

Enjoying birthday cake

Opening gifts

All ready for Mass on her birthday

No Update-Update

2010-02-26T15:25:00.004-06:00

That's what I like to call a point of communication when I really have nothing to say now, but want to let you know that I will have something to say later. Look forward to posts on:

Catherine's 7th birthday
Max and his very own bedroom
Is fish considered meat? heh, heh, heh...

A new little baby boy

2010-02-23T05:36:00.004-06:00

Exciting news in the extended family...my brother Carl and his wife Claire adopted a beautiful little boy, Silas Maurice, born February 18. Miles is the proud, and from what I understand, helpful, big brother. The 3rd generation of Al and LaVonne Iversons may be complete now. But I'll leave that to Carl, Eric and their wives to make the final determination...

Does Silas have the Quade nose? You be the judge.

A nice break in the day

2010-02-15T18:40:00.000-06:00

Kyle and the kids were off today due to President's Day. As has become a tradition, they came out to take me to lunch. After lunch, we went back to my office and the kids greeted coworkers, picked out stickers a friend was handing out, enjoyed some treats and drew pictures on my whiteboard so I could remember they stopped by.

Having them stop by for lunch makes for a nice break in the work day when I know they're having fun with Dad and I can't be home with them.

NFC Championship, Here We Come!

2010-01-17T15:09:00.003-06:00

It was a gripping 1st quarter, but as the minutes passed by, it got easier and more fun to watch! Now we need to beat New Orleans in their house next week. That's a tall order.

On Haiti

2010-01-14T16:48:00.005-06:00

Like many of you, I am glued to the TV and internet taking in what I can bear to take in regarding the complete devastation in Haiti.

And I ponder: What can just one person do?

I made a donation to Doctors Without Borders. Why that particular cause? Consider it viral social media marketing at its best--my sister-in-law posted in her Facebook status that she made a donation to DWB and included the link. I clicked on it.

I asked my parish leaders to solicit the congregation to donate through our tithing program.

I continue to watch the coverage.
I cry.
I pray.

I pray for the lost, the maimed, the vulnerable. I cry for the now motherless children. One image is sticking in my head. A child about 4 years of age. He's sitting in the street, naked looking desperately around. His eyes pleading, "Is that you, Mother? Do you know where my mother is?"

So I pray some more that help will get there in time and that God will be with them.

Sick day

2010-01-11T16:06:00.000-06:00

Max was a puke monster all day yesterday and it played into a very restless night for all but Cate. So I stayed home with the little guy today and laid low. We had a picnic and watched movies.

Max is feeling much better now.

The First Jensens6021Ramblings Poll Closed

2010-01-08T17:29:00.002-06:00

It was a 50 / 50 split. Two votes. Shocking. Must get more readership. But first...I must become more interesting.

Now onto the Playoffs

2010-01-03T19:15:00.005-06:00

The Vikings cleaned up in their final game of the season against the Giants and thanks to the Cowboys beating the Eagles, we secured the #2 seed. I'll be very interested to see what team shows up in two weeks (the Sunday Night Football team or the Sunday afternoon team) and who we'll play. If a team can come in and upset New Orleans, I think we can make it to the Big Game in Feburary.

And what's up with the Pro Bowl being played in Florida on February 1? Hopefully our eight Vikings pro-bowlers won't be playing because they'll be focused on the Super Bowl the following Sunday.

On a slightly different note, we had apps duty for the final football game. I was feeling quite ambitious and Kyle was supportive of my efforts, so we made 4 new receipes and created a wonton themed spread--Mini Bacon and Cheese Quiches, Mexican Beef and Green Chilies Wontons, Crispy Chicken Wontons and Chocolate-Banana Wontons. We baked all of them, although the dessert recipe called for the wontons to be fried. We should've followed that direction. The quiches were okay; the chicken wontons needed some more flavor in the mixture (we think more soy sauce), but the beef and chilies wontons were very good.

It looks as though there seems to be some sense of adventure in me after all. Who knows what I'll do next?

New Year's Day Ebilskiver Breakfast

2010-01-01T16:38:00.003-06:00

Wow--is it really the first day of 2010? While hard to believe, we were ready. We had our annual Ebilskiver breakfast open house this morning and played host to fourteen guests who came in from the cold to enjoy warm ebilskiver, sausage, a New Year's Aquavit toast and great conversation.

It sure is a fun way to start out the new year surrounded by some of our favorite friends and family members.

About those Vikings

2009-12-29T17:20:00.004-06:00

I predicted they would go 12-4, but boy am I now disappointed with that potential finish given the phenomenal performance they had at the beginning of the season and the embarrassing showings in thier last three primetime appearances.

What's your take?

Are the Vikings going to make it past the first round? Get to the Conference Championship? Get to the Super Bowl?

Take the survey to the left and sound off by commenting here!

Florida!

2009-12-27T23:02:00.015-06:00

Our winter getaway has already come and gone. We had a very good time. I can't say it went as I had imagined, but that's not a negative thing. We spent one day at Sea World, which was "meh...okay"; drove to the Atlantic at New Smyrna Beach where Max got soaked racing the waves and Cate built a sandcastle; and toured three Disney World Parks in 4-1/2 days.

Kyle did have to remind me at one time that if the kids want to wait their day away in lines to meet the Disney characters then that is what we should do because they were so thrilled when they encountered each one.

I wasted my money buying the Unauthorized Guide to Disney World for Kids because once we got there, I didn't even open it up. The kids pretty much guided us to where they wanted to go and what they wanted to do. The parks were crazy-packed, but for the most part, everyone was civil. The only truly frustrating time was trying to get across Main Street as people crowded along the sidewalk waiting for the 3pm parade. It was a freaking traffic jam!

In total, we experienced sensory overload; rode a few rides; met many, many characters (see all of them here); ate very badly and were sad to go home at the end of the week.

So enjoy a sampling of the photos we took of our trip. If you're really into it, view all of them here. You should be able to tell in the middle of them that we had themed days for most days. Gaggy? Yeah, a bit; but it certainly made it easier to find each other in the mobs of people.

Manatee at Sea World

Four Things

Shamu Show - "Believe!"

Is that house really upside down? Yes...it's Wonder Works

Max the Astronaut

Cate the astronaut

Tons of fun things in stockings delivered to our hotel room
Running into the waves

Cate making a sandcastle

Max getting really wet

Two people in the way of a fantastic ocean view
Cate was in heaven eating shrimp
The castle at night
Getting Princess Aurora's (Sleeping Beauty) autograph
Princess Aurora is ready with the ultimate Princess pose
Meeting Minnie and Mickey
We learned that Max really likes Donald Duck
Hugs for Donald
Family photo with Belle from Beauty and the Beast
Even Santa hangs out at WDW Running them ragged after many days helps them sleep well

Santa Goofy--notice all three heads tilted!
Another Donald encounter--can you tell who was so thrilled?

Donald autographed stuffed Donald's foot!

Dinoland USA in Animal Kingdom

Yeah, that's right...Mickey waffles!

Student of the Month-Grade 1

2009-12-18T15:17:00.004-06:00

Catherine was recognized as a Student of the Month at school this morning. By the end of the year, all students will be a Student of the Month. This month, each teacher chose to recognize students who demonstrated exemplary responsibility in the classroom.

Catherine was glowing with pride.

I'm pretty sure she had the largest number of supporters at the assembly: me, Max, Aunt Jo, Grandma Katie, Grandpa Ken, Grandma LaVonne. Max totally enjoyed the music program and the applause for the students as their names were called. Apparently, at one point, he asked Grandma Katie why I wasn't clapping, so I ended up joining in on the fun.

My camera's battery crapped out on me (again!) and so these are from my phone.

Just about ready

2009-12-17T15:55:00.002-06:00

We're less than 48 hours away from departing for our vacation to Florida. The preparations thus far have been quite smooth. We really don't have any last minute things to do, so the last night home will be a calm one.

We're headed down to Orlando, Florida to spend Christmas with a certain Mouse and several Princesses. It will be a dream come true for two little ones. It's nice to be able to grant wishes.

I checked the temps today. It looks like it will be in the 60s when we're there. That's about 50 degrees warmer than it is here, so we'll enjoy it. I'm hoping it will be too cool for others to think about going to the Parks and the lines will be that much more manageable. We'll see.

So maybe you'll hear from us during the week and maybe you won't.

If not, well...I hope you have a wonderful Christmas. We'll be thinking about you.

Catching up...

2009-12-08T16:54:00.006-06:00

This time of year gets pretty busy for everyone, and I have been busily documenting some of the highlights from our lives on my handy camera phone. Here's what's been going on in November and the first days of December...

Cate lost tooth number two. The Tooth Fairy was just as kind to her and left her two $1 dollar gold coins in her pillow.

I was in a bit of a fender bender during rush-hour traffic on may way home from a difficult work day. The "funny" part about the accident was that I crashed into a guy I went to grade school with. It's not my ideal way of reconnecting with fellow alumni, but oh well. Both of us were safe and he was very nice about the whole thing. Given the age of the car, it was deemed "totaled". I now drive a sporty Toyota Matrix.

Our Annual Cookie Baking night was Friday, November 20. This is the first year without Aunt Lola, who passed away in April, so it was a bittersweet evening for all of us. My nephew Nick came back for the second year and dear friend Jen came as a special guest this year.

Cate was a huge help in quickly getting all the Hershey's Kisses on the peanut butter blossoms. I think her tiny fingers gave her a nice advantage.

In total, 9 varieties of cookies are made, of which 5 are rotated through one oven...yielding over 2000 cookies each year!

Last Monday, after a very frustrating weekend with the kids, we instilled no TV weekdays. To replace the TV time, we have Family Fun time. Max is fascinated with my beads, so Monday night we all made a piece of jewelry. Max wears his self-made bracelet daily.

Friday, December 4, Kyle and I got out for a date. We enjoyed dinner and a Chris Botti concert at Orchestra Hall. We had box seats just to stage right (I think it's stage right, right?). Chris is an excellent entertainer who effectively showcases the talents of his group mates (such as it would be for a jazz ensemble) and special guests. He's also a good story teller.

On our way home, it occurred to me that this particular evening, being the first Friday of December, marked the 19th anniversary of our first date. My how our lives have changed...

We continued our Family Fun time by making gingerbread cookies together. I'm sad, yet proud to admit that I made the dough and icing from scratch. The kids had fun choosing which cut-out to use.

Last night, we finished off by decorating the cookies. Being the aspirational thinker I am, I had delusions that I could decorate the cookies as swell as the ones pictured in the Betty Crocker magazine I got the recipes from. So when the kids got distracted and dumped sprinkles on the cookies, I "fired" them and proceeded to finish the job myself.

Then reality hit. I was no better than they were. It doesn't help that I don't have a steady hand, so the piping became more of a wavy line. I then called in cool-hand Kyle to help out. His finishing touches were much more of what I was looking for.

Oh well. They're just going to get eaten, right?

Well, the first storm of the season is barreling in. We'll have to pull out the shovels and get the kettle on for hot cocoa. Looks like movie nights are in our near future...

Stay warm and safe!

The Litany, backfired

2009-11-14T09:02:00.006-06:00

With every grandchild, my mom has had a little "thing" going. When she would ask, "Whose boy / girl are you?" The grandchild would brightly answer, "Grandma's boy!" or "Grandma's girl!"

With Max, a litany has begun. After Grandma would ask, "Whose boy are you?" Max would brightly answer, "Grandma's boy!" Then his godmother, Aunt Jo wanted a piece of the action, so she added, "Max, whose guy are you?" He would brightly answer, "Aunt Jo's guy!" Obviously as the mother of this adorable child, I couldn't be ignored, so I added, "But Max, who loves you?" He brightly answers, "Momma loves me." And we stop there.

This morning we went through the litany. I decided coming off a bad end to the work week, I would add a little twist to get a little reinforcement and to feel the love from my young one.

Momma: Max, whose boy are you?
Max: Grandma's boy!
Momma: Max, whose guy are you?
Max: Aunt Jo's guy!
Momma: Max, who loves you?
Max: Momma!
Momma: So Max...who do you love? (insert self-gratuitous smile and batting of eyelashes toward young, adorable and loyal boy)
Max: Daddy!

Needless to say, Kyle was laying there and did his best to stifle a "Nelson from the Simpsons" laugh.

Halloween Trick or Treaters

2009-11-02T16:39:00.004-06:00

Catherine and Max's costume dreams came true this year. Catherine wanted to be a Paduan Jedi (see Star Wars reference here).

Max wanted to be Wall-e . We missed the mass-produced costumes by at least one Halloween season, so we ended up having to make it ourselves. It ended up turning out great!

Catherine made it six houses and said: "I'm done. I want to go home now." She got whammed with a fever. Max went along with Kyle for another couple of blocks. He took home more than enough candy for both kids.

Where'd all the money go?

2009-10-30T12:52:00.003-05:00

Oh yes, to:

*the couple of Target runs for Target Clinic and prescriptions

*candy coffee everyday

*lunches and dinners

*Halloween costumes and treats

*back to Target again for new clothes because everything else falls in one of two buckets:

1) everything is dirty or

2) nothing fits

*fill the gas tank because of the multiple Target runs

*birthday festivities and the many indulgences such as:

1) a day-trip to Duluth

2) buying birthday gifts for other October babies and buying a $17 doodle book for patient little 6-y/o shopping companion

3) a massage

4) dinner, drinks and dessert

5) a new scarf

6) going to a movie (with popcorn and soda, thankyouverymuch)

Hmm, yeah. Not cool.

A Saturday in October

2009-10-17T23:08:00.002-05:00

We had a fun day today since it seems Autumn isn't quite over yet. The sun came back and the temps were in the low 50s, so pleasant enough to have family pictures taken outside. A guy who works in the photo studio opens his home for a Family Photo Day and books 30-minute photo sessions. One of his stylist buddies from set production comes over and prepares the scenes. It's really quite fun and a hell of a deal. You get your 30-minute session, about 75 shots are taken and saved on a disk which the family gets to take with them. While Kyle and I had good expressions today, we just couldn't get Max to crack a smile and Catherine either had her hair in her face or slouched down. Oh well. Below you'll see one of the keepers. The kids got to wear their Star Wars t-shirts, so we also brought the light sabers. Catherine had a blast during those pictures. And Max? Well, he just stood there with a blank look on his face.

While waiting for this disc to load, I chatted it up with Jerry the photographer and his wife. While discussing the fantastic weather of the day, I became inspired to hit the apple orchard. We had a good time, albeit somewhat on the spendy side. We brought home a nice variety of apples and a couple of pumpkins. When we were down one row of trees, Kyle bit into an apple. After seeing Kyle do that, Max wanted a bite. So Kyle gave him his own apple to eat. I am fairly certain it was the first one he had eaten off the core. He dripped of apple juice, but his "mmmmm"ing really made for an audible treat.

After a somewhat dramatic dinner where Max refused to eat anything, Max and I got dropped off at home while Kyle took Catherine for an ice cream treat. I started to peel apples for Apple Crunch and put the peelings on some old newspaper. Max snuck up and tried to take some of my sliced apples and I saidn "no, but if you want these peels, you can have those." I didn't honestly think he would take. But he did and he ate up each and every peeling I cut off three apples.

Kyle and I settled in to watch some post season baseball after the kids went to bed and we had our first bites of the fresh-out-of-the-oven apple crunch. It was so fantastically good. It's hard not to have more!

(It may not look like much, but really...it tastes fantastic!)

Here's the recipe:

3 medium or 2 large apples, peeled and sliced (I use Granny Smith or Haralson)
3/4 c brown sugar
1/2 c flour
1/2 c quick cooking oatmeal
1/2 c butter

Arrange apples in 8" greased square baking pan. Combine oatmeal, sugar and flour. Cut in butter. Sprinkle over apples. Bake at 350* F for 35 to 40 minutes. Serve warm with milk cream or whipped cream. Serves 4-6.

Waiting to be diagnosed "Officially Sick"

2009-10-15T09:52:00.000-05:00

Sad to think I am hoping I am the right kind of ill to be seen by a doctor and get some good drugs for my ailment.

I'm sitting in the waiting area...I was told it would be about a 20 minute wait to be seen. I was given a pager, so I walked the aisles for a short bit. Nothing but a pumpkin spice latte jumped out at me, so I returned to the waiting area with my drink in hand. As others come in to be seen, it grew to an hour and twenty minute wait!

As the photo shows, each corner table had a kleenex box and antigerm hand sanitizer.

People didn't seem to want to hang around there. Rather, they took their pager and multi-tasked as this generation seems to be edept at doing and hit the aisles. Even if they returned with nothing, it was a nice way to kill time and keep on spreading the germs.

I've been assessing each person coming in and wondering what they are afflicted with. I wonder how many have any type of flu including H1N1 or if they were in for different reasons. I feel somewhat guilty being there because I don't exhibit obvious symptoms other than my drip-drip-dripping nose, but with this crap hanging out for more than a week, I needed to get in so that I didn't wish I could stick a pin in my head to pop the pressure like a balloon.

So my name gets called and I'm seen by the Medical Assistant. I take the route of making small talk with her as she checks my vitals. I learn that this is the new normal at the clinic where there is an endless trail of people streaming in to be seen for this ailment or that ailment. She said she much prefers this type of day compared to when they had the flu vaccine and they were seeing 180 patients. Holy cow! She feels badly that the shortfall to going to this sort of clinic is that they can only see one person at a time, whic attributes to the long wait. I commented that the people I've noticed today seem to take it in stride. She agreed, but also followed up that it truly depends on the day whether people deal well or not with the waiting situation.

I was seen by a nurse who was very pleasant. She asked a lot of questions regarding the onset of my symptoms, the duration of symptoms and if there are certain activities or motions that set off particular symptoms. She then proceeded with the typical examination: lungs, ears, nose, throat, eyes. Sure enough, based on the symptoms and some internal indications, I was pegged for a sinus infection. Yippee! After ten or so minutes, I walked out toward the pharmacy to wait yet another twenty minutes to get my little piece of heaven in the shape of a huge horse pill of amoxicillan. Taken 3x daily for 10 days.

Isn't is sad to be happy to be sick?

Winter makes an early appearance

2009-10-12T18:56:00.001-05:00

Gawdamnit!

Really, truly the photo of our home was taken this morning. The kids made their first snowman of the season. My birthday isn't for a couple of weeks--there isn't supposed to be snow on the ground already!

I thought I had an unspoken agreement with Mother Nature.

I thought wrong.

My lunch date

2009-10-12T12:19:00.000-05:00

All three of my team members are out of the office today, so the guys in my life brought lunch to me. What a treat!

What happened to Autumn?

2009-10-10T17:54:00.000-05:00

Overnight, the wind came up; the rain turned into snow. We weren't quite prepared seeing snow, albeit a light coating on the grass that went away as soon as the sun hit it. But it's just short of mid-October and the general mental rule for me to accept wintry weather is that it can not arrive until after my birthday, which is in a couple of weeks.

As much as I'd like to influence when the snow flies around here, it just doesn't work that way.
So today the storm windows were hung, the flannel sheets and down comforters replaced the lighter weight linens for the season, winter outerwear inventory was reviewed and updated, and the backyard summer toys were picked up and stored away.

When Max picked up the shovel and the sand bucket, he was a bit surprised to find whatever rainwater that fell in it from the past day had turned into ice. It was a funny thing to behold.

So long, warm weather. See you again in another six months.

In case you encounter Cate

2009-10-08T22:53:00.003-05:00

...she wants to be called Catherine, not Cate. Ever since she recently learned how to spell C-a-t-h-e-r-i-n-e, she has decided to be a "Catherine" versus a "Cate". I got called out by her this evening while we were at a school open house for prospective families. I pointed her out as Cate while she was drawing at the chalkboard. She overheard and corrected me saying, "Not Cate, it's CATHERINE!"

Whoa.

My email inbox

2009-10-08T14:34:00.003-05:00

The daily grind includes a massive flood of information coming at me via email. This is the norm for just about anyone in a typical 9 - 5 office job.

Most are work related, some are life-related. This life-related email is courtesy from Jolene who is watching Max these days while my mom has a break:

-------------------------------
From: Jolene Iverson
To: Jennifer Jensen
Sent: 10/8/2009 1:31 PM

Subject: max wants a treat

Poor Max, he wants a treat of chocolate with gold on it. I have told them they are all gone. which makes him sad. :(

So, we are on the search for an adequate stand-in.

So far, a good potty day. :)

Hog Pile!

2009-10-05T21:50:00.000-05:00

I remember when I and my siblings used to hog pile with my dad on the same living room floor. Now it's Kyle on the bottom of the pile with our two kids and two of their cousins on top! Love it.

Favre Fever?

2009-10-04T21:50:00.004-05:00

Gotta say...I've gotta fever. A Favre Believer Fever. And the game isn't until tomorrow night.
Oh...and I also love this current campaign by Sears. Is it in your market?

What a week for Cate

2009-10-02T11:32:00.000-05:00

This week has had its ups and downs for Cate.

She's been out of school all week on top of the almost two days she was out last week with pneumonia and a fever that just wouldn't break.

playing on the computer while on nebulizer

Cate and Max can still fit in a clothes basket together!

She lost her first tooth. The tooth fairy was good to her.

Two gold dollar coins!

Her fever finally went away, but there's no school today. We'll do something special together for sure. It's been a long week stuck at home for the little girl.

From the mouth of Kyle

2009-10-01T23:48:00.002-05:00

"I love you because you love me and gave me two wonderful chil--okay, you gave me two children. Between the two children, we have one wonderful child."

Row, Row, Row Your Boat

2009-09-30T12:08:00.002-05:00

We all work for the same company. So why does it seem we are trying to row in opposite directions? The saga of TV vs INET continues...

Sunday is Football and Family Day

2009-09-20T23:38:00.011-05:00

I can not believe that I haven't written about game day since I started my blog. We are Vikings fans--100% (okay, I can not attest what team(s) Carl and Clair follow, but they don't live in Minnesota anyway). I don't know if we would allow a marriage in our family to a Packers fan--it would be just too incompatible and downright ugly on those two match-ups each season. It would be worse than a Catholic marrying a Lutheran--uff da (truly this is a joke--my Dad was Lutheran before he married my Mom, Kyle was Methodist when I married him)!

Gosh, about 12 years ago, eldest sister Jeanine started the tradition of building the season calendar and everyone would bring one appetizer or sweet treat to the Bassett home and watch the game together as a family. Back then, 3:00 and later games were pizza games. Each family would chip in $5 per head.

The weekly pot-luck eventually got cumbersome, so we moved to each household "owning" a noon game and bringing the entire food spread. Pizza games were still at 3:00 and evening games were preceded with a full dinner typically made by Jeanine or Mom.

Unless otherwise specified, all games are still at the Bassett home. When the Bassetts were in Switzerland for three years, we all took turns hosting at our homes. That carried on into the first season the Bassetts returned, but I'm pretty sure we have now settled in on the Bassett home or Mom and Dad's home for family celebrations, such as today.

Tuesday is Jeanine's birthday, so the family got together for game day in the parents' basement. There were 17 of us, 9 adults, 8 kids. Mom got a little carried away with the food, making sure she had some of Jeanine's favorites: taco dip and chips, corned beef cheese ball with crackers, cheese, sausage, apples, grapes, m&ms, peanuts, puffcorn, bacon wrapped 'lil smokies, veggies and dip, I'm sure I've forgotten something... At least we were able to stop Mom from making chicken nuggets because there was plenty of food and the kids were already done eating before she wouldn't even gotten them in the oven.

Baby Howie, Brooke, Steve, Jeanine

Jolene, Nick, Papa, Eric

What's left of the food

Even though this is our weekly get together and there is some chatter catching up with what everyone has been up to, we actually watch the game. And what about the kids? They are left to their own devices, and for the most part, they know the drill and don't walk in front of the TV during an active play.

Millie, Cate, Henry, Jack and Max playing legos

The Vikes are off to a good start being 2-0. The first half has been challenging to watch as they don't break out until the second half. I am sure hoping the Favre deal is worth it. I am thrilled he's here, despite how odd it is seeing him in a Vikings uniform. We have a better shot with him than without him to go pretty deep into the post-season. And how awesome is Adrian Peterson?

We are ready for some football!

Mass in the Park and All Parish Picnic

2009-09-20T22:41:00.009-05:00

I recently became a Ministry Leader for Parish Life at The Church of the Visitation in Minneapolis. My first big gig was to chair the planning committee for the Mass in the Park and All Parish picnic, a parish gathering we hope will become an annual event. Because we are in the Midwest, the weather can get questionable in September (the avg high is in the mid-60s), but we chose this particular weekend because our parish played host to two delegates from the Kitui Diocese in Kenya. We felt what better way to introduce our new friends to summer life in America than to enjoy a good old-fashioned picnic.

Fortunately, God blessed us with the perfect day. It was mostly sunny with a slight breeze and the bugs weren't too bad. About 75 people attended the outdoor Mass and another 20 parishioners showed up for the picnic after Mass.

Father O'Brien (r) presenting Father Mitui (l) the stole hand-painted with Visitation Icons, the State bird and State flower

Jolene presenting the Readings

The congregation

Kenyan friends singing "We Come to the Table" in Kiswahili

The picnic dinner was catered in by Picnics Plus and there was an abundance of delicious food--hamburgers, hot dogs, brats, baked beans, potato salad, watermelon, three varieties of cookies and fudge brownies; coffee, lemonade and water.

The abundant food

Four out of five in this photo are enjoying the picnic

We decorated the pavilion with strings of lights, raised halogen lights up in the middle pillar and set the picnic tables with candles and provided mini flashlights to use as needed after the sun set. We also lit the way back up the hill to the vehicles with solar lights and more candles. It was a beautiful sight that I couldn't capture in pictures.For entertainment, there was face painting, temporary tattoos and glow sticks for the kids (and adults alike!) and a sing-along after dinner led by our choir director.
There were so many positive remarks, I am confident the event was a success and that people will be looking forward to next year's event. It should be another good time...

First Grade Homework

2009-09-20T20:18:00.006-05:00

Cate is settling into the school schedule. A good deal of her closer friends are in the same classroom. She goes to school happy and she comes home happy, but with not much more commentary other than, "good." when asked how her day was. Her teacher seems to be a woman who isn't going to take any crap and intends to run a tight ship. She's the right teacher for Cate, spunky as she is. Cate's after-school schedule is mixed-up, just like last year. Depending on the day she is in the after-school program, taking the bus to Grandma and Papa's house or being picked up by Grandpa and Grandma.

New this year is homework. From the first couple of weeks, it appears at least in the early months, the homework will be to practice spelling words. I sat with her for the first time last Sunday working on her five spelling words: at, cat, bat, sat, mat. Pretty simple instructions: write each word three times, then write a total of five sentences using one word per sentence. An example was also sent home so parents could review and correct the child's work as necessary. One would think that since the child was given very clear instructions, it would be a relatively simple project. Uhm, no. Almost an hour and several temper tantrums later, she finished the project. I vowed never to wait until Sunday evening again to have Cate complete her homework.

Unfortunately, with our packed weekend, she didn't sit down until Sunday evening again, but the same exercise with five new words took about half the time.I am impressed with some of the more complex sentences she wants to construct and / or the sentences she can write by herself. Last week, she could've written, "I have a hat." Rather, she wanted to write, "My hat is green and red and purple." This evening she wrote two complete sentences without any help from me, which I thought was pretty cool.It does concern me that, in first grade, she already doesn't like doing homework. I don't think I started to dislike doing homework until fifth grade.This is going to be a long year.

Suzanne Somers is in the House!

2009-09-17T14:44:00.008-05:00

As many of you are aware, I work at ShopNBC, a multi-channel retailing primarily recognized as a home shopping network. This weekend we are welcoming Suzanne Somers, a legend in the home shopping industry, to ShopNBC. Regardless of anyone's opinion of Suzanne Somers, this is a HUGE win for ShopNBC. Suzanne was at HSN for 17 years and was a significant contributor to the success they have realized in recent years. Obviously, we hope the same bodes well for ShopNBC.

Today I attended a Suzanne Somers Meet and Greet session, where she spoke to a group of fifty or so team members about her life experiences, why she does what she does and why she is so excited to be working with ShopNBC. Clearly given her entertainment background, she is a wonderful speaker, yet at the same time seems to be very approachable. So much so that, when the Meet and Greet was over, the "entourage" were in front of us walking the same direction out of the studio I decided to catch up to her and asked her if she would be open to having her picture taken with me.

And voila!

It was a nice little highlight to the day especially given the entire site is intermittently down and we're working toward the eleventh hour making sure we have flawless execution for the Premiere of Suzanne's shows launching tomorrow night.

Keep your fingers crossed for us!

Taking a rest from the fundraising stomp

2009-09-15T23:52:00.000-05:00

Cate and I went to the Callaghans' this evening to solicit her gift-wrap / candy / frozen cookie dough offerings for her school fall fundraiser. After our visit, we made a stop at Liberty for a little custard. She likes vanilla with sprinkles. I ordered chocolate chocolate chip. Yum!

We got to chat about school and her anxiety about having her first loose tooth and other cool stuff. It sure is nice to bum around one and one. We'll have to do that more often.

I am ready for some football!

2009-09-13T21:51:00.000-05:00

The Vikes have win #1 in the books. The kids are in bed after a dramatic end to the day surrounding me and Mini-Me working on her first spelling words assignment. Reward for keeping my cool? Sunday Night Football and wine from a local vineyard.

Hope your weekend was slightly less dramatic than ours was.

Cheers!

Sleepless in the Midwest

2009-09-10T01:02:00.001-05:00

I don't do well when I can't fall asleep. It so rarely happens that I don't know how to function the next day. I really hope tonight is not going to be one of those nights.

Max fell asleep on the way home from Grandma and Grandpa's. He didn't stir when we tried to wake him up for supper. I hope he makes it all the way through the night.

Cate will jump out of bed right away when her alarm goes off. We hit our snooze two, three four times. I can be really efficient getting some hard shut-eye during those 7-minute intervals.

I took two advil. Hope it helps. Morning will come soon. Tomorrow will be a busy day.

Comparisons to Kirstie Alley

2009-09-09T10:04:00.003-05:00

Hearken to the days when "Cheers" was not syndicated yet. People who first met me told me I resembled Kirstie Alley. Tall, skinny Kirstie Alley mind you; with no neck, beautiful lips, long, gorgeous hair, the over-the-top hand gestures, the whiny voice, and stomp-stomp-stomping out of scenes because Sam Malone has irritated her to no end. Back then, I didn't mind being called out as resembling Kirstie Alley.

These days I mind.

But like her, and like millions of people, I struggle with my weight. I worked hard to lose almost 50 pounds in 7 months. It's almost all back. Just short of two years later. I just knew when I started Weight Watchers that I could lose all the weight. I was never confident I would embrace the entire lifestyle change necessary to make it stick. Same song and dance as everyone else, so no need to feel sorry for me or give me a pep talk. I get it.

So here I am, back to square 1.2. And not sure if I'm going to do anything about it.

But, just so you know, I'm back to big. In case you see me.

Cate's First Day of First Grade

2009-09-01T11:04:00.004-05:00

Is summer as we know it already over? It feels like last month I was taking Cate's first day of kindergarten picture in front of the house. Oh well, one can't stop time, I guess.

So here we are, on the other side of summer.And here's Cate's standing very tall and proud to be in first grade. She is no more the newbie of the school. She is already excited to be a mentor to those wide-eyed 5-year-olds that looked scared out of their wits coming just short of crying for their mommas.

She has reunited with many of her friends from last year that will be in her classroom this year as well. Last Thursday, she met her new teacher and is terribly impressed that Mrs. Livermore's first name is....wait for it....Hermione. Yep. Hermione Livermore. This is real life, baby. You couldn't make it up any better than that.

I'm rather forgetful. Those of you who know me won't be surprised to learn that I thought I had registered Cate for her after school program, but I didn't. So now she's on the waiting list. And the district's transportation did not do me any favors by not assigning Cate a bus stop for her one afternoon a week drop-off at Grandma and Papa's house. That onus is on the district. But how could they possibly take note of only one afternoon a week bus stop request among thousands of grade school students.

So, Cate will have an extra special first day of school today. She will be coming back to work with me when I pick her up at the end of the school day. She couldn't be more excited. And so am I.

I'm looking forward to hearing all about her first day of first grade. It should be fun!

I Feel Very Silly

2009-07-23T00:20:00.003-05:00

Yep. I am getting more and more scatter-brained.

This evening, Kyle was pulling together everything for recycling day tomorrow and he cleared out empty diet coke cases from the fridge. After coming back upstairs to get some more, he remarked we were out of pop. And off he goes to his guys' night out.

Fast forward a couple of hours...the kids are finally down for the count in their room. I'm ready to settle in to watch crappy TV (You Think You Can Dance) and fold laundry (four loads from a week-and-a-half ago) with a nice can of cold Caffeine Free Diet Coke. I open the fridge and see the empty shelf and freeze. No more pop. I can't go out because the kids are now asleep. What do I do?

Update my Facebook status: Jennifer Iverson Jensen just reached into the fridge and shrieked--there's no more diet coke. must. not. panic.

Not more than 20 minutes later, there is a knock on the door. Cate Coleman shows up with Diet Coke and Caffeine Free Diet Coke. My savior.

We hang out about 30 minutes and then another knock on the door. This time, it's Cate's husband Patrick stopping by for a visit. He decided to get out on the road with his bike and his ride ended up at my house.

As usual, I put off figuring out what I was going to make for a pot-luck picnic at work. I looked in the cupboard and saw a box of brownies. I reached into the fridge to grab my yogurt for the brownie mix, and....wait a second. What did I spy there? Two cans of Diet Coke on an upper shelf. Ugh! I brought in the Colemans to show them what a scatter-brain I really am. They had their enjoyment in that. Then they turned to the other side of the kitchen and started washing my dinner dishes.

E-gads! It's hard to be gracious and accept the act of kindness, and so I sit here still with a silly half-smile.

They are such good friends.

Wednesday nights are much cooler now.

Goin' "Down Home"

2009-07-15T20:50:00.007-05:00

These days, we find ourselves going "Down Home" for family reunions or funerals. Today we went down for a funeral. My Great Aunt Hannah passed away at the age of 93 after a brief illness while in the hospital recovering from successful surgery. Fortunately, until two weeks ago, she was feeling fabulous, so we are blessed to have had her on this earth for so long. The service was lovely, honoring my Great Aunt perfectly.

The funeral was out at a country church in Southwest Minnesota. I, Kyle, my brother Eric, sisters Jolene and Jeanine and Jeanine's son, Nick all traveled down in one vehicle. It has been a long time we adults have been together to just visit, so a combined six hours stuck together in a car was really an enjoyable time.

It was an incredibly gorgeous day with a light breeze and not a cloud in the sky. It's no wonder why it's always so nice to be down there, no matter the reason.

The cool thing about small town funerals is the familiar environment it offers. Everything you could imagine about a cliche church basement luncheon was exactly on point here. As we entered the church, we were greeted by the wafts of hot-dish. Yum! One could hear the glass dishes clinking against each other and the folding chairs skidding on the floor as the ladies from the funeral luncheon circle got everything set while we filed into the church. After the service and interment, we proceeded to the church basement and found a spot at one of the many tables practically set with plates, water glasses, coffee cups, coffee carafe, creamer powder, sugar packets, water pitcher, salt and pepper packets, a pickle / relish dish, a salad bowl, a basket of buttered breads / buns, and a glass platter with a variety of homemade cupcakes.

The salads varied from table to table. Most were some variety of jello salad. Some had fruit set in the jello, others had fruit and whipped cream creating more of an opaque jello salad. Our table had a fruit salad dressed in something I wasn't sure about. It was the sort of salad where many, many cans of fruit cocktail were cracked open and tossed along with mini marshmallows into the right-sized goldenrod Tupperware "fix 'n mix" bowl.

When the "Amen" concluded Grace before the meal, the hot-dish made its arrival to each of the tables--scalloped potatoes and cubed ham. The cheese sauce was added on top of the piping hot sliced potatoes which caused some slight scalding. Oh well...it didn't matter...it tasted like carb heaven going down.

After a while, someone from another table came holding a salad and inquired about swapping bowls, which we gladly agreed to the trade. In return for our fruit cocktail salad, we got a cherry jello salad with raspberries set in and whipped cream frosted on top. It was a refreshing finish to sooth the tongue burnt from the hot potatoes.

Back to that glass platter of cupcakes...there were probably four or five different varieties on our platter alone--a yellow cupcake with chocolate frosting, a white one with pink frosting and m&m's on top, a white one with marshmallow cream frosting and sprinkles on top, and my absolute favorite--a chocolate cupcake with peanut butter frosting. That was one of my grandma's specialties. I took advantage of that sentimental moment and informed my mom that I would like a chocolate cake with peanut butter frosting for my birthday in October. It was very difficult to have just one. We made sure Nick, my 13-year old nephew, ate three cupcakes and my brother Eric ate two cupcakes so the platter was empty as we left the table to visit with other family.

Kyle's remark about the luncheon? "I see they don't really take diabetics into consideration when planning their menu." Oh well, that's what the insulin is for, right? :)

When saying our good-byes, we were told by Hannah's son-in-law that we should be sure to stop by Hannah's farm to see her beautiful lily gardens, which we glady obliged. I wish I had gotten a shot of those gardens; they were stuffed with gorgeous lilies at peak blooming, it was so wonderful to see those beautiful garden beds which gave her such great joy.

And because we were down in the area, we made the wide circle and drove down through Storden. We noticed the playground on the old school lot is now over-grown with weeds. We reminisced about the time I did a header down the tall slide with Jeanine on watch and another time when Jolene tied my shoelaces in double-knots on the merry-go-round and told me to ask my really good-looking second cousin to rescue me who was on his way down to shoot hoops. I am not sure why all the memories were related to me, but ahhh, the good times...

We drove by my grandma's house appropriately situated on Pleasant Avenue. It looks great and someone seems to be living there, which is a positive thing since many of these little farm communities are slowly fading to nothing.

Something very cool is changing the landscape down in the farmland; huge wind turbines are dotting the horizon, their powerful arms perfectly rotating with the swift prairie breeze. This is great potential for the future sustainability of the community and a positive step in maximizing alternate energy solutions.

Even though it was a time of sadness, it was also a time of thankfulness for the simple things in life--family, generosity of community, God's beauty in nature and fantastic church basement luncheons.

Cate Can Ride a Two-Wheeler!

2009-07-15T20:35:00.003-05:00

Whelp, after two swaths up and down the block this evening, Cate has got it--she is officially a two-wheelin' cyclist. We've been working with her every once in a while when she was open to trying. A couple of nights ago, she would've had it if she had gone up and down one more time. This evening's outing pretty much sealed the deal for her. It was difficult to get her off the bike.

Her reward for learning how to ride a two-wheeler will be a bike ride to the park two blocks away on Friday. I can't wait!

Down the block...

...and back up the block

My First Big Sister Day by Cate Jensen

2009-07-13T20:11:00.009-05:00

Yesterday was a newly designated holiday at our house--Big Sister Day. Here is Cate's account of the day...

My First Big Sister Day

by Cate Jensen

I really liked my breakfast because we (Cate and Mommy) went to Perkins.

Then I also liked my play-date with Anthony. And he's my friend! I went to the beach and at the beach we had a snack. The snack was Cheetos. And we had fun at the beach. The grown-up with us was Uncle Mike to Cate, that's what I call him. To Anthony, he is his grandpa.

For dinner, we went to Culver's and I really liked it because I had hot dog, french fries, and ice cream. Special about the ice cream was I had m&m's on it.

And after dinner, I opened my presents for Big Sister Day. I got two new dresses. One was striped; one was purple with no stripes. I got new pairs of socks. Two were white; one was spotted and one was striped and spotted. And I got new skorts; one was grey, one was navy blue. I got three new activity books. There was one baby owl book with subtraction and one kid owl book with addition and one goat book with words and adding words and some compound words. And I also got some glow-sticks. One for me and one for my little brother, Max. And I got some bubble makers and there was some that I saw at Bible School.

And I also got to play my favorite one and only favorite game, Sorry. I liked everything!

And after all of that, it was my not favorite time but I had to do it; it was bedtime. And the specialist thing of all at bedtime was that I got to look at my baby owl book and my kid owl book and my goat book.

I wish every day was Big Sister Day!!

The End.

Kickball Season recaps

2009-06-19T11:50:00.003-05:00

I'm the manager of our division's kickball team participating through a local Park and Rec Board. We're through four games. After each game I write up a game recap. They're fun for light reading, so I thought I would post the game recaps and continue on through the rest of the season...

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ShopNBC Kickapoos
Game 1: May 28 Versus: Recess Rioters
Final Score: Kickapoos: 4, Rioters: 5

EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn-- Several of you asked to get updated on the ShopNBC Kickapoos kickball team. Last night was our first game. We had a roster of 10 players last night who had never so much as practiced together prior to the first game. You would’ve thought we’d been playing together for at least two, three games!

It was a close game, where both team were equal in talent. We lost the coin toss and the Recess Rioters chose to be the home team. Right away, in the top of the first inning, we scored three runs. Eventually, the Rioters picked away at our lead and we came to the top of the 7th inning behind 4 – 5. We got the bases loaded and two outs. Could we do it? Could we get that tying run in? Alas, it was not meant to be—at least not this time. Final score: ShopNBC Kickapoos 4, Recess Rioters 5.

MVP goes to: Matt Theis. Matt stepped up to pitch the first game of the season. Unbeknownst to him, he wasn’t only pitcher, but because of kickball rules indicating any infield play between 2nd and 3rd base can be thrown back to the pitcher to qualify the runner to be out at first, he got A LOT of action.

Brute of the Week goes to: Toni Clemens. After having all the balls going down the 3rd base line, she thought it might be easier to bag 1st base. Not to be. One line drive and throw back to 1st had her reaching for the save catch and instead collided with the runner. Toni’s brute strength was too powerful for the runner who went sprawling in the dirt. All were able to dust it off and play continued.

Thanks to everyone for a great game! I haven’t received many injury reports other than a sore hamstring and a sore back, so the pre-game stretching and post-game hydrating did their job.

Up next week: Kickapoos vs We Got the Runs
When: Thursday, June 4 @ 6:10pm

You are invited to come and cheer on your team. Post-game gathering location TBD.

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ShopNBC Kickapoos
Game 2: June 4 Versus: We Got the Runs
Final Score: Kickapoos: 5, the Runs: 2

EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn-- On a clear, sunny and seasonally polluted (thanks cottonwood trees!) evening, the ShopNBC Kickball crew of 10 met their newest opponent, We Got the Runs. Oh yeah, they looked real intimidating in their brown shirts with yellow logo and fancy numbers on the back of their t's, but we could smell their inexperience a mile away.

At game toss, we again were determined to be the visitors, which had us up to plate first. Quite unsettling to the manager, the umpire sabatoged the complex kicking line-up strategy that was created for this big game. He instilled the mandatory guy-gal-must-alternate-kicking rule. So we went up and down in the first inning scoring zero and leaving one stranded on base.

Bottom of the first inning, the dependable defense took the field. We came back in as fast as we went out--a 1-2-3 inning (if I recall correctly).

Then our legs got warm and it was all down-hill from there. We got in 2 runs in the second, 2 runs in the third and blanked the opponent until the 5th inning when they started a mini-rally and scored 2 runs against us. Just to ensure our victory, JJ (a.k.a me), who came in as pinch-runner for Amber Asman who heroically kicked a safe single despite a quad strain, did some smart decoy base running from 1st for 2nd and get tagged out so that Matt Theis could run safely home behind the action at second to score the defining final blow to the opposition.

A lot of smart play occurred during the game, no hot-shot catches or hero save attempts. Just playing for the good of the team and slowing it down when necessary to minimize the risk.

The MVP goes to Toni Clemens. Toni was a defensive warrior in her new position at 2nd base. We Got the Runs was sitting at 2-out, but two on base in the bottom of the 7th inning. A pop fly came her way. Everyone in attendance could hear, "oh god, oh god, oh god!" from the 2nd base area, but sure enough, she held firm, her eyes on the ball and when it came down, after what seemed to be an eternity, it stuck into her suction-like strong arms and stayed there for the final, dramatic out of the game.

The Digger award goes to: Amber Asman. Why digger you say? Well, she experienced a pull in her quad fairly early in the game, yet still played on. She dug deep into her heart and took it for the team, especially when asked if she was okay to kick in the 6th inning, she grimaced, but bravely said, "yeah...I can kick." She kicked a nice shot down between two infielders and limped safely into first.

Team newbie for the game was Mike Olson. He was unable to make it to the first game, but while he didn't want to go on record, a source close to Olson indicates he had a good time out there and looks forward to playing in the future.

The toasts and celebrations continued off the field at Old Chicago, Minnetonka. A good time was had by those in attendance.

So, here we are, dear fans, off to a nice start to the season. We are now 1-1. We had four fans in the stands...er, uhm, grassy hill,...that were young and old. Why don't you join us next week?

Up next week: Kickapoos vs 3 Finger Salute
When: Thursday, June 11 @ 7:15pm (note later time)

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ShopNBC Kickapoos
Game 3: June 11 Versus: 3 Finger Salute
Final Score: Kickapoos: 1, 3 Finger Salute: 9

EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn-- Post-game report submitted by Robin Dary, bench player and roving reporter--

Last night was game 3 for the ShopNBC Kickapoos kickball team. The team has spirit, enthusiasm and pride. The quiet rumblings of a low-budget team making Park and Rec Board Kickball League waves have piqued curiosity and the crowd of raving fans grew from 4 to 11 this week (6 of whom were aged 11 and under and playing in the park). Is there anything cuter than a child shouting, “Go Mommy’s team!" or "Nice try, Mommy!” It was a calm night about 72 degrees at a beautiful Minnetonka park. Ok, how long can I stall before I share the details?

(Insert big, deep breath here...)

The Kickapoos suffered a crushing defeat, 1 - 9 . In our defense, I must mention that the opposing team was made up entirely of former professional soccer players. Well, not really but for nursing home residents they played a mean kickball game. OR Well, not really but for 10 year-olds they played a mean kickball game. At any rate, they pulled out every trick in their bag--bunting, directional kicking, kicking it to the crazy 2nd basewoman who could be heard gurgling, "oh gawd, oh gawd!"

The other team got a little cocky after a while once settled into their 8-run lead. One line drive kick to their firstbaseman caused some potential for bench clearing. He officially caught the ball, proceeded to "drop" the ball as Matt Theis jogged off the field toward the bench and then sauntered over to the bag for the out. A little unnecessary teasing caused the collective to "boo!". The umpire decided to get into the action and called for 2 extra bases for Matt due to unsportsmanlike conduct, at which he followed up with a "just kidding!"--all this at the top of the 7th inning rally point. Grr.

The best quote of the night goes to Pat, a friend of JJ’s (who was recruited to help stack the number of guys on the team), in describing the opposing team. “You can be good and not be asses....that team was a little to the ' ass ' side of the line."

The “wish I had a video camera” catch goes to JJ. She caught a pop ball, almost dropped it, leaned back with arms overhead, kept the ball and got the final out at the bottom of the sixth inning.

Kim Bukoskey and Blaire Freeman made their season debut; Matt Theis and Heath Mast continue to be two of the most over-worked defensive players. Toni Clemens had a great catch just as her husband walked out of sight and Scott Dary (my hot husband) didn't let any balls fly past him in the outfield.

We are humbled, but not broken. We are now looking forward to the next match-up. Can we top 11 fans? Who knows...why don't you join us next week?

Up next week: Kickapoos vs TMNT
When: Thursday, June 18 @ 6:10 pm

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ShopNBC Kickapoos
Game 4: June 18 Versus: TMNT
Final Score: Kickapoos: 1, TMNT: 9

EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn-- It was like the famous scene from the movie "The Right Stuff" (cue dramatic music here)

...where the first American astronauts take the slow walk out onto the tarmac...these big, behemoth men and women poised and possessing grit in their jaw took the field.
They had cleats, cool ray-bans and striped knee-high socks.

On the other side of the field was an unknowing rag-tag team of co-workers, just looking to have a little fun on a balmy June evening. Was there to be a dramatic turn of events this week for the Kickapoos?

Uhm, no.

The opponent was that good. And then some.

The Kickapoos took the field with the 9th player arriving just before a forfeit had to be announced. The Kickapoos were a bit shaken, but not stirred. A shake-up was needed indeed. Our very own Toni Clemens took the mound for the Kickapoos, relieving Matt Theis who valiantly pitched the firsts three games, and pitched some great looking balls to the fierce opponent. We were, however, no match for them. Quickly, they took advantage of the bunting allowance and ran circles around the Kickapoos scoring 6 runs in the first, 2 runs in the second, and 1 run in the fourth.

Then the lights went out on Mike Olson.

In the bottom of the fourth inning, a kick was made and Olson was on second. He tore down the line to take third base. But before he could get there, the giant third baseman (rumors indicate he may have been working the steroids shortly before the game) planted himself on the running line in front of the bag. Determined to get the bag, Olson bore down and tried to take the dude with him, but the greatest collision ever witnessed on a kickball field occurred: Olson made contact with the human brick wall and went spiraling up in the air (I kid you not!) landing with a thud on his shoulder defiantly tagging the bag. As a result of the rough play, the Umpire called an automatic base advance, which allowed Olson to limp home for the only Kickapoo run of the game.

After the fourth inning, the Kickapoos got their defensive game on and blanked the Ninja Turtles for two more innings. Our kicking toes, however, remained silent. Due to a mandatory "3-runs-scored" rule declared by the Umpire, the game was called after the 6th inning.

MVP goes to: Mike Olson. Need I say more? (Apparently yes...) Bruised and battered, he still showed up to work next day. Good thing his wife wasn't in attendance last night...TMNT would've seen some real ninja action outta that girl!

Given the losing record, 1 - 3, the team is looking to restrategerize (hey, if George Bush can say it, why can't I?) and get their new game on. Spring training is over, people! Now Boys (and Girls) of Summer will show up for next week's game. Are you ready to rumble?

Up next week: Kickapoos vs The Toematers
When: Thursday, June 25 @ 7:15 pm

We're always looking for new recruits to play for the team. Drop JJ a line to let her know you’d like to play.

Turtles, turtle and tortoise

2009-06-15T11:49:00.011-05:00

We live near a small lake; I am guessing there is some geological reason for it being a lake, but I would consider it more of a pond. Living near this lake for five years, we get to enjoy seeing a lot of ducks and geese and figured a turtle or two might be around. We had our first turtle sighting a few weeks back on a sunny day. They were Painter turtles, I think. They crawl up the bank, away from the lake, creep across the road and sun themselves in the neighbors' yards. We saw about five of them coming and going on the first day.

Every day, the kids beg us to drive by the lake to see if there are any more turtles. If there are, we put the car in park, open the doors so the kids can see...admire the cute critters for a bit and move along.

Two weekends ago, we were slowly driving looking for crossing turtles and came across a big'un--a Snapping turtle. It didn't take us long to figure out mama turtle was up laying eggs. Later in the day, upon our return, we saw yet another female up from the shore laying eggs. She was there all day long. After doing a little research, we have learned that the eggs will hatch in 75 to 150 days from now. It seems like forever from now.

This past Saturday, we encountered yet another turtle. He seemed to be stuck and not able to get up the curb. So Kyle and the kids got out and had a "look-see." There was some seaweed and possibly a leech on its shell. Kyle picked the turtle up and just as he was about to set it down on the mud, the turtle peed--a lot--just missing Kyle's shoe! The kids sure got a giggle out of that.

We also got to the Minnesota Zoo and saw several varieties of turtles and tortoises. Below you see the kids on the bronze tortoise. I am beginning to think every zoo has one of these. Does yours?

My Physical Therapy Fun

2009-06-03T09:18:00.003-05:00

For about six months I have been experiencing some interesting tingling from shoulder right on down to the tips of my fingers. It has increasingly become more dramatic as the months have passed. I had x-rays and an MRI in January, a follow-up MRI in March and since there was no conclusive evidence to diagnose my issue, I was given a referral to Orthopedic Surgery for a consult. That sounded just too serious for me. So I opted to go my own route and investigate into physical therapy. Since May, I have been going to Wellspring Health Center for physical therapy. It's a very cool experience and I believe I am starting to see some improvement with my issue.

I've had laser treatment, percussor treatment, pilates mat work, intersegmental spinal traction (ooh! sounds scary) and next week I will have manual therapy, i.e. massage.

I've been given some tips and tricks to aid in improving my posture, which is really the main physical issue at hand. I find that I am constantly adjusting my posture, sitting or standing as I work to unlearn poor posture habits. I always laugh when the therapists who are helping me through an exercise push down on my shoulders to get them into the correct position. I tell them, "really! they can't go down any further!" Well no wonder I have shoulder pain! My shoulders are always tensed up.

To no one's surprise, it's all about basics. But it's hard work to unlearn what I've piled on in the past couple of decades. And in this new physical therapy journey, I very recently had an epiphany--I believe my physical issues are a direct connection of the stress and depression I have found myself buried into in the past couple of years. I've opted to medicate myself for the mental / emotional challenges and to be functional for my children, but I didn't address the physical aspect of my depression. By making that connection, I am sure if I work hard with the help I got, I will get much better much sooner. Who knows, maybe I'll even be brave enough to discontinue the medication!

So even though the following list has tips you have all heard before, I think it's worth the merit in sharing this stuff again. Our lives are stressful enough. Why not make one little change that could improve your life manifold?

Tips on Stress Management (from Wellspring Health Center):
*Schedule Time for yourself and enjoy a relaxing activity.
*Don't say yes when you mean no.
*Breathe deeply.
*Leave the past behind.
*Exercise regularly.
*Take care of your health.
*Visualize positive outcomes.
*Laugh.
*Don't eat in a hurry.
*Organize your life.
*Take stretch breaks.
*Do what you say and say what you do.
*Practice random acts of kindness.
*Be polite, you'll like yourself better.
*Be flexible, adapt to change.
*Slow down.
*Don't put off till tomorrow what can be done today.
*Step back and observe.
*See a comedy.
*Use affirmations.
*Be still and meditate (or pray).
*Listen more, talk less.
*Simplify, simplify, simplify.

How do you manage your stress? Got any tips of your own to share?

Would You Rather...?

2009-05-27T19:09:00.001-05:00

Cate was working through a kid's menu while we waited for our food. Any of you who know Cate are quite aware that she is not a fruit eater.

Here you can see her answer on one of the "would you rather" questions. When asked why she chose the apple over chocolate cake, she replied, "I know that's how I should answer the question because an apple is healthier than chocolate cake."

A future politician perhaps?

Yet another classic fashionista ensemble

2009-05-24T18:49:00.000-05:00

Can you tell which of these two kids proudly picked out his / her own outfit?

The kids get a haircut

2009-05-24T18:43:00.000-05:00

I have to say I am SO relieved that our kids actually look forward to getting their hair cut. We take them to Kids' Hair which , obviously by the name, caters solely on kids' haircuts.

Since it was a light evening in the shop, the stylist provided a little extra pizzazz to the final style for both kids. Cate got gold glitter hairspray with a purple srtipe down one section of her locks. Max got his front gelled up and sprayed with silver glitter and blue tips.

Max couldn't wait to check his newly coiffed hair out at home. Once he saw himself in the hand mirror I gave him, he sighed satisfactorily, "I look SO pretty!"

Very mch worth the $16.50 haircut charge.

The Minnesota Landscape Arboretum and General Lee

2009-05-24T16:05:00.000-05:00

I was out with Jen and Jessica this afternoon on the most perfect of all Minnesota days--blue skies, 70s, sun. After we took our walk around the grounds--gorgeous!--we decided to drive along the 3-Mile Road. Who, or what, we should encounter is the General Lee from The Dukes of Hazzard. Who knew such a car was into trolling through perfectly groomed gardens? I think the driver knew we were stalking him because I tried for at least one of the three miles of the 3-Mile Road to get a shot, so he stopped on the side, so I could get a more close up shot.

We then reminisced back to the days when we watched Dukes of Hazzard and CHiPs and how we pretended to be married to Bo or Luke, John or Ponch. Ahh, those were the days!

Sick Cate

2009-05-06T16:46:00.006-05:00

You would think since Spring is here, no one would get sick. But then along came the H1N1 flu. Not that H1N1 has anything to do with Cate being home ill today, but it's all still very much a drag to be sick when it's so dang nice outside.

My guess is that the seasonal blooming is aggravating Cate's allergies which is escalating her bronchial issues. The nebulizer has made its return to our night-time routine. She woke up with a nasty cough and an even nastier temperament. She didn't want to go to school today. Rather, she wanted to go to Grandma and Grandpa's because she wasn't feeling well. In the midst of trying to explain her options to her, she ended up in the naughty corner four times because she was having a fit, which caused her to puke. Gr-e-at.

I knew if I sent her to the Jensens, in short order she would be bouncing around and playing. So I kept her home with me, while I telecommuted for work today. In order to ensure this doesn't become a regular habit, I enforced a no TV, no Gameboy, no movie, no playing downstairs day. She was free to color, read books or whatever other quiet thing she could think of doing that kept her preoccupied while I worked.

Mission accomplished. I am pretty darn sure this is the most time she has ever spent with her nose in books. Shoot, she even set up her own camp. It looks quite cozy, don't you think?

Happy 3rd Birthday, Max (like-a-week-and-a-half-ago)

2009-05-06T15:21:00.006-05:00

So the wee little one turned three on April 26. We had a great day, despite the rain. It was alright because we had not planned on eating our meal outside, but I was a bit concerned Kyle would be stuck grilling while getting drenched. Grandparents, Godmother Jolene and Great Uncle Cliff came to celebrate with us. We served brats, hamburgers, potato salad, fruit salad, pickles and chips.After singing "Happy Birthday" it was time for Max to blow out the candles. It took him four or five attempts and a little help from Cate to get all three candles out. We cheered him on when the flames were no longer. I baked a chocolate cake which I decided to forego my sloppy writing decoration and settled for doodles instead. Regardless, it tasted Pillsbury fresh.

When time came for opening gifts, Cate was clearly more eager than Max to move on to the next gift. He took his sweet time opening the envelopes, listening to the messages, unwrapping the gift and really take what he received. He enjoyed each and every one of his gifts. Our kids are so lucky.

His favorite gifts, by far, are his plush Wall*E doll--from his favorite movie--and his very own light saber. Now he joins the ranks of his big sister and Daddy wielding a light saber. It's been heard more than once around here that Cate thinks I should have a green light saber for Mother's day. Who knows?

Can One Actually Call It Running?

2009-04-25T21:01:00.006-05:00

Not sure, but this morning I and two of my best gal pals were out on the road running the Get In Gear 5K for the second year. We are all at different places in our training prep and what-not and the results were appropriate. Jess bested her last year's finish by shaving off close to a minute. Jen and I just had one goal in mind--jog the route as much as possible. Mission accomplished and then some. We did jog the entire 5K, although I feel fairly certain had we walked, we may not have finished too much farther behind. We left some in the tank for a final dash at the end. Jen really busted it out--I have no idea where she got it from, but roasted across the finish line. I was very impressed (and somewhat jealous!).

The weather was expected to be crappy--rain and wind, but ended up absolutely ideal for running. It was mid-40s, light breeze and overcast (non-threatening) skies.

We had a few fans on the course today--Jess's hubby, little girl and a niece were in attendance. Even though they missed us coming in, it was nice they were there for support.

I am proud to say that I know one of the top female finishers--Chrissy Bloemendal finished fourth overall against 1000+ female runners. Wow~ Hat's off to her.

I am looking forward to making it an annual tradition. Right, girls?

Now I look forward to the MS Walk (shameless plug for your financial support here) next week, the Kenny 5K on May 30 and who knows what after that.

A Slacker Am I

2009-04-21T21:37:00.005-05:00

So, yeah...it's been a while. Like everyone else, life is a wee bit busy. Blogging has and hasn't been top of mind lately. With procrastinating as long as possible to write reviews for myself and my direct-reports, going to NYC for a business / pleasure trip, having to say final farewell to a dear aunt who passed away, potty-training my not-quite-three-year-old boy, and kicking some serious blackberry brick-breaker ass, I just haven't gotten around to blogging lately.

Sorry about that.

But I'm back. Whoo-hoo!

Lots of photos are stuck in flickr land. Eventually I may post some with some of the highlights of above. Although I would guess a good deal of you readers are also facebook friends of mine so you've pretty much seen / followed what's been going on in my day-to-day.

It's quiet in the house at the present moment, I'm kickin' it and feeling a little silly. Not sure what to do about that, but oh well.

Saturday is the Get In Gear 5K. Last year, it was the first 5K I ever participated in. I am not ready at all for this event. I am feeling pretty darn sure that there will be much more walking than running this go-around. But I will be out there bright and early nonetheless with two of my best gal pals, Jen and Jess.

So Mister Max has graduated from potty-training novice to potty-training amateur early in week 2. Something happened Sunday where he just "got it" as it pertains to peeing in the potty. He can now pee on demand--that is, hold it until you get him to sit down on the potty. Within five minutes, he's got some pee in the potty to proudly show you. The pooping deal isn't going so well--yet. But I am sure he'll figure it out soon enough. I am so very proud of him and pleased that there won't be any more diapers or pull-ups in this house.

This evening, Cate went to her first Daisy Girl Scout meeting. I think she will really blossom from the lessons and values Girl Scouts will teach her about courage, confidence and character. I was never a girl scout, although I had been given the choice back in 4th grade--I chose basketball over Girl Scouts. I think this will be a fun journery to explore with her. Wait until cookie sales time--I was a top fund-raiser back in grade school for the Marathon for Non-Public Education, so consider this your warning!

Kyle and I celebrated our 13th Wedding Anniversary this past weekend. Our anniversary fell on Easter Sunday, so our date landed on Saturday, April 18. Kyle planned the evening and I didn't know where we were going until we got there. He took me to The Melting Pot, where we enjoyed an indulgent four-course fondue dining experience. I wish I had the writing stylings of Delco Guy when he blogs about his dining experience, but I can say that we left there quite satisfied and wish we could afford to go there more often. But the caloric and financial expense is way beyond our general budget.

Max will turn three on Sunday. His birthday party is that day as well, so we will be spending a lot of time this week procrastinating until we finally get around and quick-clean the house.

Until I blog you later, here's a photo that has quickly become my new favorite photo. This is sister and brother walking home from Cate's school last Tuesday. Props to Patrick for enhancing it for me.

Master Procrastinator

2009-03-25T09:58:00.003-05:00

Yep, that accurately describes me. It's review time at work. I love, Love, LOVE review time. Seriously. No snickering on the other side of the computer, thankyouverymuch.

However, I have put off my review writing WAY too long. And I think I know why.

This year, a new added twist was thrown in. I'm not sure if this was the year to add the new element to the review process. You know, like most companies, we will have no merit increase, our 401K match is suspended and any bonus that we were eligible for if we hit any of our numbers is completely dashed away. So too, promotions seem to be suspended in the short-term for my team members who are looking to move upwards in the company. It seems that our experience is not satisfactory. Yet, despite RIFs as recent as January (that were not performance based if you recall), upper management has recently announced four new team members in Buyer, Director and VP levels that all have the magical QVC experience. Me: not bitter. Really.

Back to the new twist. This year, the new twist in the process was, get this--in addition to writing our self-review, we had to submit 3 - 5 team members to provide 360 degree feedback. For me, the writer, this ends up equating to one self-review on horrific numbers and nine 360-degree feedback forms.

Try telling my team members why this year, more than any other year, it's especially important to submit a good review and fully participate in the 360 feedback process when all of the above is the frustrating reality.

Guess what? The self-reviews are due today. I have three 360s done, but I haven't even touched my review. Uh-oh. Yet, I am blogging.

It's going to be a long day. But even though I'm down to the wire, I will submit quality stuff. I promise.

What the hell is wrong with my priorities?

Baking cookies on a Lazy Sunday

2009-03-22T22:17:00.006-05:00

It was another lazy Sunday morning. Kyle and I were laying around in our room while the kids played in the living room. I was smiling to myself that Cate is so incredibly patient and motherly to Max when it's just the two of them.

Fast forward to lunch. I decided it would be good that I recognize Cate and her fabulous big sister behavior in playing so nicely with Max. There is nothing more she wants to be when she grows up than to be a teacher and a mom. So, I opened with: "Cate, I am so proud of how you play so nicely with Max in the morning. You are going to be such a wonderful mother. How did you learn to be so good?" Her reply: "No one taught me. I learned how to do it by myself."

Guh.

She also told me, "Besides, you're too mean."

Double guh.

Needless to say, that hit me. I almost teared up right there.

How do I redeem myself?

We had to stop at the store to get a few groceries, so we added eggs and flour into the kids' "Shopper in Training" carts and made our way home. Cate wanted so badly to go on pbskids.org, ("Mom, you never let me go on pbskids anymore!"), so I let her play to her hearts' content. Then I even let her print off some of the pictures she made online.

As the afternoon wore on and I felt Cate had finally had her sufficient fill of playing on the computer, I asked her if she wanted to bake some cookies. She jumped at the opportunity. Thank goodness!

We didn't have a full package of any one kind of chips, so we made four-chip cookies. Fortunately, Kyle's mom bakes a lot and just dumps in whatever she has on hand. Cate bakes quite a bit with Grandma Katie, so she didn't panic when I told her that was what we had to work with. She wasn't too sure about the butterscotch chips, but I explained that they were kind of a cross between caramel and peanut butter. She could handle that.

So she did the measuring, mixing, egg-cracking (no shell!) and dumping into the bowl. I did the final scrape down and scooping onto the pans. Max was the batter taster.

They turned out pretty darn good.

As far as my mothering skills and Cate's opinion of it goes...well, I'll deal with it. I'm hoping this is somewhat typical for a mother / oldest daughter relationship. Right?

Right?!

Things to do while locked in a bathroom at home

2009-03-19T20:53:00.001-05:00

Okay, I'm taking the low road tonight. I don't have the patience to deal with yet another frustratingly long bedtime debacle with Max. So after repeatedly putting him back in his bed without speaking to him, and sitting it out in the middle of their room and trying to silently slip away without success (thanks for nothin' Super Nanny!), I had to go to the bathroom so damn bad. Of course, Max immediately popped his head up and I ran ahead and locked the bathroom door with me on one side and Max on the other side.

Before I go any further, I will disclaim that Kyle is indeed in the house, so no mistreatment or neglect of Max occurred while I was in the bathroom away from him. I will also disclaim that I love my little boy a lot, but this Momma's boy stuff is for the birds.

Anyway...

What does one do while alone in the bathroom after successfully completing the initial objective (and the hands have been washed) but decides to wait until the temper tantrum subsides on the other side? If you ever find yourself in such a predicament, here's a few suggestions (in no particular order):

* take a long, hot bath
* shave
* pluck those unsightly chin hairs
* mask and tone your face
* clip your nails
* if you actually store your cleaning supplies in your bathroom, clean the bathroom
* brush and floss teeth
* count the tiles
* drink plenty of water (because the toilet's right there when your bladder is full)
* do yoga (only poses suitable for small spaces)
* brush and floss your teeth
* gargle with mouthwash (and if necessary, take a swig)
* clean your ears
* brush your hair 100 times
* sing songs (the acoustics usually rock in bathrooms)
* practice your smile in the mirror
* write a soap message on the mirror for your loved one to see later after it's all fogged up

And of course, since I obviously have my blackberry with me (don't ask!), there's a whole other list of ideas:

* check out the NCAA basketball scores on cbssports.com
* keep up correspondences via facebook
* RAFT all work emails
* plan out the next day's workload
* jot a few thoughts about one's self-appraisal
* play BrickBreaker
* make a few phonecalls
* twitter
* read up on cnn.com
* check out tomorrow's weather so you can mentally prepare what to wear
* watch goofy things on youtube.com
* install unnecessary apps
* calculate stuff on the calculator
* review appointments on the calendar
* make up new appointments to look like you're busy and super-important or a social rockstar
* write haikus
* google your name (boring!)
* hide all the apps you have no idea what their usefulness is
* take pictures and send them to facebook or flickr
* blog about locking yourself in the bathroom. Make every attempt to sound clever, yet don't be too lengthy (also, try to not sound too crazy in the head doing it--duh!)

Okay...so the boy seems to be asleep. I can get back to the rest of my life now. It's been a blissful 45 minutes though. Hope you find some pf my suggestions useful. Make any additions you'd like in the comments section. This could be or may have been you at some time.

My Blog Personality

2009-03-12T17:15:00.003-05:00

A fellow blogger I have been following for about a year referred to this site in his most recent post. Essentially, you paste in your blog address, or anyone else's for that matter, and it will return with a personality based on the writing style used.

Here's my return:

ESFP - The Performers
The entertaining and friendly type. They are especially attuned to pleasure and beauty and like to fill their surroundings with soft fabrics, bright colors and sweet smells. They live in the present moment and don´t like to plan ahead - they are always in risk of exhausting themselves.

They enjoy work that makes them able to help other people in a concrete and visible way. They tend to avoid conflicts and rarely initiate confrontation - qualities that can make it hard for them in management positions.

If I recall when I took the Myers-Briggs personality in a work setting, (it was one of those "team-synergy" deals), I was more like an Introverted something or other (ISFP perhaps?)...but I do completely relate to the second paragraph. Although, I must say I am getting better at initiating conflict. :)

Now, I am compelled to take the MBTI for real! Stay tuned.

By the way, what MBTI are you?

Cate's Birthday Week

2009-03-01T22:56:00.011-06:00

Cate started her birthday week last Saturday with a family party. We enjoyed Cate's favorites--marinated flank steak, roasted potatoes, broccoli and rustic bread. She was surrounded by her grandparents and godmothers (and Michael). It was a lovely evening. Her birthday cake of choice was a frozen custard cake from Culvers. She was a bit overwhelmed by the Happy Birthday song, but managed to blow all her candles out in one shot.

Her favorite gift, by far,was not the bike. It was the Star Wars Legos kit she received from Jeanine. The coolest part is that she puts the kit together, plays with it and starts all over again. Max is allowed watch patiently and not touch, which he does pretty well.

She's not at all interested in Star Wars Legos, right?

She's already fast-forwarding to summer and thinking about falling with her bike

Max very patiently watching and helping slightly

Monday, February 23, Cate was Star of the Day in her classroom and as they recognize birthdays in this manner, it was going to be an extra special day. However, Cate woke up sick and missed her special day at school. When she did get back on Tuesday, she was told she could bring her birthday treat later in the week and so her special day just got postponed a day.

This weekend, we hosted her first friend birthday party. Three girlfriends from her kindergarten class came over for crafts and cupcakes. Cate was torn between heart cake and heart cupcakes, so I made both. The girls all wanted the cake. It's funny that they're both chocolate, with sprinkles, but they still wanted the cake. I think it was the written message that sold them! The girls all had a fabulous time with each other, it was fun to watch the interaction.

The girls working on their flower necklaces

(oops--I deleted the original before making it larger)
Clockwise from the top: Evie, Cate, Isabel, Abbey

All in all, her birthday week was a rousing success. I can't wait until next year!

There's nothing better than...

2009-02-26T14:34:00.002-06:00

...a snowstorm in late February. Okay, it would be better if it happened after everyone was safely home for work and school closed for a snow day.

I can't wait for the hot cocoa treat after shoveling this evening! Can you say Irish Cream?

How's the weather where you are?