The Rainbow Game March 7, 2012

What do you do when you have some colorful paper and a long-ish morning with the kids? Make up a game, of course!

I cut a bunch of 1″ strips of paper and glued a “rainbow” of them onto 3 white pieces of paper, labeling the colors because I want Anja to start identifying written words with everything.

I grabbed the nearest receptacle, which happened to be a paper bag, and tossed the rest of the scraps in. We took turns drawing paper strips out until someone covered all their colors and completed their rainbow. Anja got frustrated that a couple of her colors had a stack of strips five high and she wasn’t drawing the color she wanted, but it’s a lesson learned in patience, right? Both kids loved it, and it was a nice little departure from our usual Candyland-Go Fish-Memory-Hi Ho Cherrio routine.

I was surprised how well Markus did with this, neatly stacking his colored pieces on top of the correct color. He knows all his colors and has for some time, but the fact that he was able to get them pretty much lined up made me very happy for him.

Down Time December 29, 2011

This week has been nice. My hubby has the week off (for the first time since college, I believe), and we’ve been working on some projects around the house. We lounged at my mom’s house (and by that I really mean lounged…she waits on us, makes us fabulous meals, all the wonderful things moms do!) until Tuesday.

I’ve emailed some clients and announced my engagement session giveaway (if you know anyone engaged or about to be engaged in the Twin Cities area, let them know!!), I’ve read half of an e-book about quitting sugar (which my sis-in-law and I plan to do this winter). I’ve painted swatches on the freshly mudded and sanded walls of my laundry room and picked a light, creamy yellow inspired by this picture. Today we took the kids to a fun little place southwest of the cities where they jumped and ran to their hearts’ content. Hubby ran some errands this afternoon, and he brought me home some gorgeous flowers for no reason at all. LOVE.

I found some of the other pictures of my use-what-you-have wrapping and decorations from Christmas.

And our funny little gingerbread house. After years of trying and failing with graham crackers, I bought this cheap little kit at IKEA. Best gingerbread house we’ve ever had, and so easy! The icing I made stuck really well, too. Most of it went in the garbage after we got home from Mom’s, but we had fun making it.

What have you been up to this week?

Disney on Ice – Treasure Trove, December 8-11 November 28, 2011

Two years ago, right before Markus was born, Husband and I had the privilege of taking Anja to Disney on Ice Princess Classics.  She was mesmerized, and of course I found myself singing along.  :)  This year, Disney on Ice is back with Treasure Trove.  Here are some details:

Discover endless riches when Disney On Ice presents Treasure Trove comes to your hometown!  Disney On Ice sets the gold standard with its newest skating spectacular.  Get tangled up in Disney’s 50^th animated feature with Rapunzel and Flynn and enter the worlds of your other favorite Disney princesses –Tiana, Cinderella, Jasmine, Ariel, Sleeping Beauty, Belle, Mulan and of course, the one who started it all, Snow White.  Ahoy, Mateys!  Set sail with Peter Pan, the always sassy Tinker Bell and the cantankerous Captain Hook and his pirate pals on an adventure beyond Never Land!  Trek the wilds of Africa with Simba, Nala, Pumbaa and Timon as they discover the true meaning of the ‘Circle of Life.’  Tick-Tock!  Tick-Tock!  Don’t be late to a very important date with Alice and the Mad Hatter as they march with the Queen of Hearts’ Army Of Cards.  Be sure to see this show full of memories guaranteed to last a lifetime.

The wonderful folks at Feld Entertainment have sent me a deal for my readers saving you $5/ticket.  This is definitely going to be one of Anja’s Christmas gifts this year.  I’m a huge proponent of gifts of “experience” rather than only physical objects (toys, clothes, etc.).  Memories last so much longer than the latest doll!   Again, the details:

SHOW SAVINGS OPPORTUNITIES 

4 tickets for $44 on select show! A total savings of $20!

Discount valid on all weekend evening performances (Friday 7 p.m. / Saturday 7 p.m. / Sunday 5 p.m.) Offer in effect Monday, November 28 @ 10 a.m. through Wednesday, December 7 @ 10 p.m.

Offer Valid toward regularly-priced $16 tickets only, excludes VIP and Front Row Seats. Offer subject to ticket availability. For best seats redeem as soon as possible. Valid on up to 12 discounted tickets. Not to be used in conjunction with any other discounts, premiums or rebates.

To Redeem:

Call 1-800-745-3000 Use code: MOM or online here with code: MOM. (Offer subject to service and handling charges.)

Show Times:
Thursday, Dec. 8 – 7 p.m.
Friday, Dec. 9 – 10 a.m. & 7 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 10 – 11 a.m., 3 p.m. & 7 p.m.
Sunday, Dec. 11 – 1 p.m. & 5 p.m.
To discover more about Disney On Ice, go to www.disneyonice.com, or visit them on Facebook and YouTube.

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If you plan on going, let me know so I can keep an eye open for you!

A Trip to Door County November 8, 2011

We stayed at The Landmark in Egg Harbor. It had great views, and we loved the village.

At a pizza place we visited, they gave the kids pizza dough to play with instead of crayons. Markus was not thrilled; in fact, he wouldn’t touch it. But Anja had a ball!

This was one of our favorite memories of the vacation. We were out on the pier and it started to rain, so we ducked into a little gazebo in a nearby park and sat there for a long time, playing together, watching the lights over the harbor…

I took a bunch of photos at Sweetie Pies, but we didn’t eat there. It was around 11:30 when we arrived (they’d been open for hours), and when I requested 3 slices of pie, the gal working said 2 of the 3 weren’t “ready to cut into yet…come back in an hour.” WHAT? You are a pie place, and you won’t cut your pies until afternoon? I didn’t want to pay $4/slice for day-old pie, so we left. And didn’t return in an hour. And got pie somewhere else. Sherman signed the guest book, though.

We ate custard 3 different places, but this was the tastiest.

Ate at Al Johnson’s, with goats on the roof. Food was okay, atmosphere was fun. I’m a sucker for anything Scandinavian.

Saw this on our drive around the island. Those poor “ladies of the night,” being forced into slave labor for Bea.

These are hard to see, but we made a wrong turn near a park and found this odd little boat of Snoopy dogs made of milk cartons. I made Husband stop so I could take a picture.

I wish we’d had more time to explore it, but this county park, recommended by some friends who’d just been to Door County, was beautiful. Great place to explore. Reminded me of the north shore of Lake Superior, actually. Rugged, fresh, lovely.

We dubbed it a “trip” rather than a vacation (since small children were involved), but you know how the fond memories stick around and the hard times melt away? That’s how it is.

Twins Baseball June 20, 2011

If all goes well, Husband and I will have been to a Twins’ game on Saturday (my first in the new ballpark)!  Back in the day, baseball was my favorite sport.  I remember staying home from school one day in 1987 to watch the World Series with my dad, faithfully waving my Homer Hankie.  They won again in 1991, but during the strike, my love faded and it’s never been the same for me since.  That doesn’t stop me from loving the experience, though.  I wouldn’t want season tickets, but going to a couple games a summer and breathing in the atmosphere of the game is quite enjoyable.  Pass the foot-long.

Thanks to my brother and sis-in-law for the invitation.  And a big thanks to my in-laws (though I don’t think they can read my blog because of the poor internet service in their area) for watching the kids so we could go!

Summer = Painted Toenails June 13, 2011

I recently saw some chemical-free toenail polish online called Scotch Naturals. Has anyone ever used it? I’d love to try it out.

Snack Picnic June 7, 2011

Sometimes they require less prep, and we do them in our own “backyard.” This one happened to be early May when Grandma was here for a visit! How much they have changed since last spring!

Grandma being a dork.

Markus’s expression while watching Grandma be a dork. “Huh? I don’t get it…”

And so began the shaking of the sippy cup.

Got a little in my eye…

“Seriously, Markus? Grow up.”

Ever the maverick, Markus loves going down slides by himself this year. Sometimes headfirst, sometimes backwards, and sometimes he just steps off onto the slide.

I’m sure a good mother would catch him at the bottom…

I am looking forward to many more days of outside play, Lord-willing!

She’s Working on Her Fade-Away Jumpshot April 22, 2011

Why is it that relatives always give the loudest and/or biggest toys?

In this case, I’m happy for the gigantic basketball hoop. B-ball is probably my favorite sport to play. I played a LOT of sports growing up: volleyball, soccer, basketball and golf for school, league softball in the summer, and tennis, swimming, and the occasional game of football for fun. I look forward to the day my daughter can school me, which, at the rate she’s growing, might be before she hits Kindergarten.

Just know, J & T, that someday there might be payback.  Even if it’s a 4′ mouse for Papi.

Dallas, Day Five April 7, 2011

had breakfast at hotel
packed up and checked out
drove to Northpark Center and walked around
had (the acclaimed) brunch at Blue Mesa Grill (****1/2 out of *****, it was fabulous)
returned our rental car and passed the rest of the afternoon at the airport
flew home where some sweet friends picked us up
hugged and kissed our kids a bunch (though Markus was a bit tentative around us at first!)

Cool floral arrangement in the lobby of our hotel (blurry)

Most of the containers at Northpark held cacti, which is not common in malls around here!

Crowded Blue Mesa. The brunch is so popular you usually have to wait awhile to get in.

Again, not the typical Minnesotan brunch – it was Tex-Mex fare. But oh so good! And the first meal of the trip that we didn’t split.

Apparently all-you-can-drink mimosas are a big deal in Dallas. I was able to finish one, and that was enough.

Cool dude at the airport.

I ran around in that thing pictured behind Husband on Anja’s behalf. It made music. I took this picture for her as well (creeeepy!).

That’s that! Our Dallas trip. Have you gone anyplace lately?

Dallas, Day Four April 5, 2011

Slept in
had cereal and juice/coffee in room
drove to Manny’s Uptown (***/*****) for lunch with a high school friend of mine
Had brisket tacos, uptown queso, and Husband had a mango frozen margarita
walked around uptown with my friend, saw his place
went to Breadwinner’s Cafe (****/*****) for dessert, had key lime pie and chocolate seduction cake (key lime was excellent, I’m a hard sell for any non-homemade cake)
stuffed, drove back to hotel
Sat by pool in the sun, then the hot tub
showered
went to Galleria Dallas, shopped
Had supper at Mi Cocina (***/*****) beef taco, pork tamale, cheese enchilada, all decent
back to hotel to relax

I often get tired of dragging my big camera around, so a lot of pics on this trip were taken with my little point-and-shoot, an old Canon Powershot. It’s funny, because even though the camera can’t “do much,” I sometimes like the shots I get with it even more than if I’d taken them with an SLR.