A friend in book club bought Gone Girl so we could pass it around. A number of people I knew had read it and had great reviews. Here’s what it’s about: Marriage can be a real killer. One of the most critically acclaimed suspense writers of our time, New York Times bestseller Gillian Flynn takes that statement to its darkest place in this unputdownable masterpiece about a marriage gone terribly, terribly wrong. The Chicago Tribune proclaimed that her work “draws... Read More Read More ...

Our little Dannie is half a year old! She is getting so big! We had her 6 month check up yesterday and she was 15 pounds, 2 ounces. She is growing perfectly on her growth chart. She was healthy and happy the whole time we were there. She only cried for a few seconds after her shots. Dannie loves playing with her feet and her toys. She has become very mobile in the past week. She will roll all over... Read More Read More ...

I had a wonderful Mother’s Day and a great weekend! I was spoiled, got to celebrate a little with our moms and step moms, made muffins with Maddie, snuggled my almost 6 month old, chuck cooked some amazing food, DQ the other night, hung up my new wind chime, went to Pilates, and Chuck worked on the yard and garden. It’s been fabulous! I am spoiled everyday by my wonderful hubby and great kids! I think I’m the luckiest mom... Read More Read More ...

Today we checked out a new park that opened in Eagan. It’s called Good Times Park. It’s an indoor playground/gym/picnic place/art station/bouncy pillow/soccer field. It wasn’t too crowded and the kids (ages almost 2-almost 4) had a great time! Some pros: It wasn’t real crowded. (Probably because the opened last week and not many people know about it.) There are lots of things for the kids to do. We were there for over 3 hours and the kids only stopped... Read More Read More ...

Our Dyson vacuum was recently having issues. This gave us an excuse to get a new one. Our Dyson was ok, but we weren’t overly impressed enough to get another one. So we were on the hunt for a new one. I couldn’t decide what I wanted. Upright? Canister? Roomba? (Ok, the last one wasn’t actually something we were considering.) *Side Note* I hate vacuuming. Well, cleaning in general. But for some reason, having your vacuum out of commission and... Read More Read More ...

We love the Children’s Museum! It’s not too far away and Chuck works in the connecting skyway, so we can go meet him for lunch. They have two floors full of various rooms for the kids. I can stay on just one floor for hours with Maddie and she doesn’t get bored. It’s wonderful! (Maddie has gotten so big since the last time I wrote about the museum!) I just renewed my membership so I can have a free guest... Read More Read More ...

It’s no secret that Maddie is very clean when she eats. She doesn’t like her hands dirty and hardly gets food on her. We went to our neighbors’ son’s 3rd birthday party last weekend and Maddie displayed her cleanliness while she ate her cake. And the other day, Chuck snapped a picture of her licking her toast.   Oh, I just love her! She cracks me up! ...

I’ve been really into tea lately. I get herbal and rooibos tea because they don’t have caffeine in them. I add some rock sugar and a little honey to my tea. Mostly, I love having a hot drink that isn’t filled with tons of calories and junk like hot chocolate. Don’t get me wrong.I do still love hot chocolate, I just drink it very infrequently. When I first started to buy tea, I could never make it taste good enough... Read More Read More ...

We go to the zoo quite often. It only takes us about 10 minutes to get there and we have a membership so I like to go frequently to make good use of it. My brother was in the process of switching jobs (he starts his new job today!), so we went to the zoo last week while he had some free time. It was still cold, but we managed to see everything at the zoo. We even walked out... Read More Read More ...

I flew through the book The Time Keeper by Mitch Albom. I had just finished another book and thought I would give this a try. My dad really likes this author. His books are Christian based and have a lesson or message. I couldn’t have read this book at a more perfect time. After talking about how burnt out I have been, I needed this book and message. Here’s a summary: For Albom fans, this adult fairytale will inspire and... Read More Read More ...

For April, my book club read Wild (From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail). I have mixed feelings about this and I think my friends in book club do, too (from the few tidbits I have heard from them, at least). First, here’s the summary: At twenty-two, Cheryl Strayed thought she had lost everything. In the wake of her mother’s death, her family scattered and her own marriage was soon destroyed. Four years later, with nothing more to... Read More Read More ...

Yesterday I told you about Gleason’s Gymnastics. Today, I’ll tell you about IGM Gymnastics. This is another local gymnastics studio that lets the kids just run around. There were some things I liked better about this place than Gleason’s and some things I liked less. First, this place has a HUGE bouncy house and slide! Maddie wouldn’t go in it, but she was a bit crabby. I am sure with time, she will love it! I really wanted to go... Read More Read More ...

There’s a couple gymnastics studios around where kids can just run around and use the equipment. We have been going to Gleason’s and Maddie loves it. The first time she was there she was a bit skeptical, but she warmed up to it. By the next time we went, she was taking off her shoes and running to the trampolines before I could pay and get Dannie out of her car seat! Maddie was fascinated to figure out how these... Read More Read More ...

I’m struggling to find balance. I need to find my happy place and regroup. I need to stop stressing about things I can’t control (or don’t need to control), not get frustrated with my toddler (she’s just a toddler… and such a wonderful one 99.9% of the time) and take more time to be patient, happy and thankful for all I have. This isn’t necessarily about one specific thing. It’s about many things. And nothing. First, I need to say... Read More Read More ...

We had wonderful and fairly laid back Easter celebration. My mom, stepdad, brothers and sister-in-law came over. We colored eggs, had a yummy meal, peeps for second breakfast, searched for eggs, enjoyed our Easter baskets and took some pictures. It was a wonderful day full of fun and laughter! Maddie loved finding the plastic eggs that were filled with “monies.” I had a couple filled with cheddar bunnies and she would throw the bunnies in the trash. She was not... Read More Read More ...

We try to get together with Chuck’s sister once a week or so. We went to their house for dinner the other night and I got some cute pictures of all the girls! Amira is walking now, so she has become a lot more fun to Maddie. They play together so well! I can’t wait for Dannie to be more mobile so they can play together. (Ok, I can wait for her to be mobile, but I am excited for... Read More Read More ...

Dannie turned 5 months old over the weekend. I’m a couple days behind getting this posted. She still loves her hands and has been getting more coordinated with her toys. She can grab them and hold on to them and seems to enjoy playing with them more. We started putting her in her jumper toy this past month and she really likes it. She loves sitting up and being part of the action. Maddie is always close by when she... Read More Read More ...

I was browsing the books on the library’s website and I came across this bookMiss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs. I couldn’t help myself and had to download it. Who cares that I am in the middle of 5 other books at the moment including one for book club. I wouldn’t consider myself a very fast reader and I finished this in less than 3 days! I couldn’t put it down! I may have read it so... Read More Read More ...

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Today at my MOMS Club meeting, we had a speaker come to talk to us about nutrition and snacks for kids. A couple months ago, all of this would have been new information to me. But after a couple months of eating well, I was proud and happy that I knew a lot of the information he provided. Nonetheless, he gave us some great ideas for snacks for kids (or adults), making healthier choices and some substitutions you can use... Read More Read More ...