I Had No Idea That Heaven...

...was right off the 75th St exit.

Sam had his very first friend-driven playdate today. His life has been one playdate after another but today's was the first one that wasn't my doing. Garrett invited Sam over to play and Sam accepted.

We have been very, very excited about this playdate. We headed out to Garrett's house at 9 this morning. When we turned on to the gravel road leading up to their house, Sam could hardly stand it.

"Oooooooh, Mom...the road is BUMPY!"

"Sam, it's gravel. If you're already this excited you're going to need a nap this afternoon."

I could hardly believe it when I pulled up to the house. It was Wonderland. They had a play structure that is better described as a playground in their yard. There was a dirt pile covered in toy trucks and shovels. The bunny cage stood next to the motor bikes. A pony patiently waited for attention under the treehouse. All of this stood in the middle of a massive, working farm. There were barns, semis, cows, tractors, and ATVs as far as the eye could see.

Garrett dashed out of the house and threw himself under the tires of my car. Sam went inside without even a goodbye. Matilda, devastated that she couldn't stay, was given a short tour by Garrett's mom. ("Matilda, do you want to pet the bunny?" "No." "Matilda, do you want to pet the pony?" "NO!")

Sam spent the whole morning there and I picked him up after lunch. He was a little sad at first but I was able to lure him out to the car with a new book. We said goodbye to Garrett, the dog, and the cat, and we went home.

I begged and pleaded with Sam for ANY information about his day. 50 points to anyone who can guess what he reported.

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Yep. "We had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, AND milk, AND chips, AND A BROWNIE!"

We owe Garrett a playdate. Does anyone know where I can buy a giraffe?

Sam in the combine.

Sam on the pony, Bullseye. This may be my new favorite picture of my dude.

There's A First Time For Everything

As we drove to school this morning Sam was talking about his friends. He always confuses Garrett's name with Beckett.

"What is his name, Mom?" Sam asked.

"Your best friend is Garrett," I answered.

"Oh yeah, Garrett," Sam said. After a moment he added, "And my girlfriend is Brooklyn."

Wha - ?

"Brooklyn is your girlfriend?" I asked.

"Yeah," Sam said. "You know, your friend's little girl."

"Yes, I know who Brooklyn is. I just didn't know that she was your girlfriend."

"Yep," he said.

When we walked into Sam's classroom, none other than Garrett and Brooklyn were waiting inside. Sam cried happily, "Oh, my best friend and my best girl!"

Here's Brookie - we really can't blame Sam for being smitten.

All We've Got

Everything can be related back to an episode of Roseanne.

Does anyone else remember when DJ was in the spelling bee? Dan and Roseanne were out of work and the whole family dressed up and sat in little chairs in DJ's classroom to watch him compete. They hooted and hollered, cheering their youngest child on, until a woman behind them sneered, "For goodness sake, it's just a spelling bee."

Roseanne turned around and snapped, as only she could, "Hey! Listen lady, this is all we've got!"


Last night was the Homecoming coronation at Dover-Eyota. I'd been counting the hours until I could go, as this year Miranda - our darling Miranda - was nominated for Homecoming Queen.

I'll let that sink in.

Homecoming Queen! Miranda, who doesn't get excited about anything, was calm and mildly amused by all of it. I was more worked up about it than she was, to say nothing of the hysteria felt by Grandma Barb, Jackie, and Mike. We've talked about nothing else all week. Right away Jackie made plans to buy yellow caution tape to block off seats for the huge group of people who would come to cheer for her girl. Some very silly people, who had obviously never met Jackie, thought she was joking.

Jackie, Mike, Kaci, James and I piled into Jackie's car and headed to Eyota at 5:00. Coronation was at 7:00 and there was no way we weren't going to be the first ones there.

Me and Mike on the way - you can see the hysteria in my eyes! Mike doesn't look that excited but trust me, he was out of his mind.

Me and Jackie. Wheeeeee!

The school was locked when we got there two hours early. What's a loving family to do? Why break in, of course.

Jackie and James, living a life of crime.

Once in the auditorium Jackie and I used her caution tape to save 25 seats. 25! Some kids had a mom come...some had both their parents and a sibling...but it's safe to say that Miranda was the only one who had seats saved for 25 (and that was just the reserved seats!).

I honestly felt a little bad for the other queen candidates. When Miranda walked out on stage we all went absolutely nuts. We were screaming and cheering like crazy people. Each candidate couple did a walk around the auditorium and as Miranda walked by us we waved, called hello to her, and her grandpa tried to give her a high five. It was just ridiculous.

At the coronation, when the kings and queens are crowned, the crown is held in a teasing way above each of the candidate's heads and the crowd cheers for each one. Again, I felt bad for the other kids from the noise that was made when the crown was over Miranda's head. And it wasn't just us - the whole place went nuts.

Well, the crown didn't end up on Miranda's head, but that didn't stop our enthusiasm. After the crowning, the lights were up and the royalty was still on stage for pictures. "Miranda! Miranda!" I called. Jackie yelled, "MIRANDA!" With a slight frown on her face, Miranda jumped and looked out at us. The second she did, our entire group again erupted in cheers and waving.

A slightly amused, tired look passed over Miranda's face and we saw her turn to the girl next to her. "That's my family," she said simply.

My sister and my Miranda - love, love, love.

Gorgeous, beautiful, wonderful, proud and happy family.



Stunning, beautiful queen.

All we've got? Admittedly, yes. But truly, too, all we'll ever need.

Baffled

Sometimes I feel like I'm totally in control, the house is amazing, and my kids are in line.

Then I wake up.

Where, oh where, did I lose my grip on this family? What moment pushed me out of this speeding car? And will I ever regain my role as ruler of this household? I LOVE all of my committments - friends, kids, job, Aldrich - but it's too much. I feel like I'm giving 50% to all of them. I am a 110% kind of girl so this scraping by drives me nuts!

Something's gotta give, y'all, but I don't want to give anything up!

Sigh. Ramblings like this are what happens when Matilda wakes me up at 4:30 to retrieve her nuk from the floor and I'm unable to go back to sleep. Now, I have to get breakfast, do dishes, bathe and dress all of us, return a shirt at Target, get diapers, design and make fundraiser posters, bring catalogs to my friend, do a cubby stuffer at Aldrich, mow the lawn, go to the bank, do laundry, send Lunch Bunch reminder emails, clean the bedrooms, make and clean lunch and dinner, and go to a meeting tonight for the Aldrich fall party. Oh yeah, and there are two children in there somewhere who expect to be properly raised. And have I mentioned my lovely husband who would like a chance to see me, too?

Well, no time for brooding - I'm off to tackle today!

Two By Two

How, how, HOW do kids know exactly what to do to drive their parents over the edge?

Matilda's whining is out of control. Everything she does, even when she's happy, is accompanied by whining noises. We've yelled, bribed, pleaded, and ignored and nothing stops it. Her latest thing is adding a syllable to 'no.'

"Matilda, it's time to (go to bed, read a book, get dressed, etc, etc)."

"No-ah!"

"Matilda! That isn't a nice way to talk. Don't say no like that."

"No-ah."

"Matilda!"

"NO-AHHHH!"

Repeat the above 658 times and you'll have imagined my entire day.

Gah!!

Sam's Story

"Sam, tell me a story."

"Okay! Once upon a time, there was a kingdom. And there was a princess in it. And she got eaten by a crocodile. But she got out."

"How did she get out?"

"There was an opening by the tail. And she got out and she fought the crocodile. And then she got to go to her kingdom. The end."


Ha ha ha ha ha!!! Sam made up a story about a woman so amazing, she could be eaten and digested by a crocodile and STILL come out to defeat it. Sam, you are the most fun I've ever had.

...And We're Off!

No matter how much you'd like to protest, summer is over. The routine of fall and winter has begun.

Eric had the last week off of work and we had such a good time. We worked on our house and it is so satisfying! Every room is DONE. We threw out tons of stuff and everything has been deep-cleaned. I think this is the most organized our house has ever been. It's a beautiful way to start fall.

Yesterday Eric took Sam to meet his teacher at Aldrich. I stayed home with Matilda. Sam reported to me that he had a great time, that he saw Brooklyn and Laura, that Braden is in his class, that there is another boy named Sam and that Mrs. Plute loves to read books. Tomorrow is his first full day and he can't wait. He says he is really excited about snack (sigh) and that he's going to tell Mrs. Plute that he has a lot of cars in his room.

Eric is back at work, Sam is in school, I am working almost every weekend, and there is never an end to my responsibilities for the Board. And tonight is the beginning of 19-0!

I LOVE this time of year!

His Favorite Playdate

On Sunday Sam and I were looking through his photo album. "These are all my friends," he sighed happily.

Then we came to the picture of my dad and Tina. "Here," Sam said. "I want to go with these dudes."

He pestered me and followed me around with the picture. "I want to go to Grandpa Mark's house, Mom," he said. "You don't have to go. I can go by myself." He thought for a moment, then added, "Well, Grandpa Mark will have to drive."

I got my dad on the phone and arranged a playdate for this afternoon. Sam is SO excited. When Eric was putting him to bed on Sunday they couldn't stop talking about it. "Dad! In three sleeps I'm going to go to Grandpa's house! He'll get me in his car. You can come too, if you want."

Eric politely declined and I was a little put out by his invitation. I was very clearly NOT invited to come. This morning at breakfast I reminded Sam that his big day was finally here. He smiled so big his eyes disappeared and turned to his sister. "Matilda! I'm going to Grandpa's house. Do you want to come? It's really fun!"

Matilda nodded furiously but I declined for her. I explained to Sam today was just for him (and NOT for me!).

Saying Goodbye - Great-Grandma Inga

These posts will mostly be for me so I have them written down before my memories get blurry. As always, anyone is welcome to read them.

I have been so blessed to have been able to say goodbye to several loved ones before they died. I can't think of any of them without thinking of those last moments I spent with them. I marvel at how, so near death, each of them were stripped down to the core of who they were.

Ruby Slippers

I was 17 when my Great-Grandma Inga died. She is my hero in many ways. She deserves not just her own post, but an entire book based on the strength, love, and resilience that came from her. She had been healthy all her life - right up to her 94th birthday. Then, some medical complications moved her into a nursing home.

It was just a month or so before my high school graduation and I was preparing for my senior prom. My mom had bought me an amazing dress that was head-to-toe red sequins. We had looked all over to find shoes to match that dress. That weekend we were visiting Grandma and stopped at the bridal shop in Red Wing to look - no luck.

I remember sitting in Grandma Inga's room. I was there with my mom (Grandma Inga's granddaughter) and Grandma Joyce (Grandma Inga's daughter). Grandma Inga was confused. At one point she asked whose room we were in. "Mom, we're in your room," Grandma Joyce tried to explain. Several times Grandma Inga drifted off into a light sleep. I was quiet, saddened by seeing my beautiful great-grandma like that.

Then, from out of nowhere, Grandma Inga looked right at me. "Have you found shoes yet?" she asked. Even then I was dumbfounded and it brings tears to my eyes remembering it now. In a moment of clarity she knew exactly who I was. She knew I was Emilie, Barb's daughter and Joyce's granddaughter, and that right then in my life the most important thing in the world was my senior prom. She had five children, 15 grandchildren, 30 great-grandchildren, and 1 great-great grandchild at that time (forgive me if my math is incorrect). But she knew me, and she knew I needed red sequined shoes.

Grandma Inga died soon after that. She never saw the pictures of my prom. Believe it or not, we found red sequined shoes and my mom still has them in storage. Sometimes I like to imagine putting them on and clicking the heels together three times. Grandma Inga would have got a kick out of that.

It Breaks My Heart...

...to say it, but it's true. I HATE the library.

The Rochester Public Library is the worst place EVER. I despise it. I HATE IT.

When I was little Eyota didn't have a library, so we would go to the Rochester library. I LOVED going to the library. I remember my mom giving me a number - 4 or 8 or 10 - and that was the number of books I could check out. The kid's area was all the way upstairs. I'd walk up the carpeted stairs, past the amazing dollhouse in the glass case, and spend as long as I wanted walking up and down the aisles. As far as happy childhood memories go, being at the library is one of the best. I remember the joy of finding a completely new book. I remember the crinkle of opening a plastic-covered book and the hum of the librarian's huge computers.

I know now that I was spoiled when we lived in St Paul. The Maplewood library is awesome. The children's area there is crazy. Piles of books, accompanied by an entire play house and kitchen, puzzles, games, puppets...Sam and I used to go there for hours every week. I would sit on the big red couch and read a magazine as Sam played with trains, cooked dinner, and read stories. It was heaven.

When we moved to Rochester two years ago I couldn't wait to get a library card. The library I grew up with was no more, and a new one had been built. I can't even remember if I was still pregnant or if I had had Matilda the first time we went. In any event, I was severely disappointed. The new library is horrible. Yes, there are rows of books, and yes, there is a fish tank, but there isn't anything else to do there but play on computers. Computers! As if children don't get enough 'screen time' at home. Why in the world would I want to go downtown, park in a ramp, and walk through a mile of skyways for my son to play on a computer??

As heartbreaking as it was I knew I never wanted to go back to the library. However, over a year has gone by and I read that this morning Underwater Adventures would be there. Children would be able to touch underwater creatures during this morning's storytime at 10:00. I left my house at 9:15. I circled downtown a few times before I found a parking garage. I had to park at the very top and carry Matilda through the garage. We walked through skyways until we got to the library. We had to go all the way around the children's section and get in line for the Underwater Adventures presentation. I had read that the auditorium sat 250 and I was worried that we wouldn't get in.

Imagine my delight when we did get in - and my disgust when I saw that the 'auditorium' was a room the size of my living room. We all packed in and sat on the floor. I'd imagine that there was 250 people there. Two girls from Underwater Adventures began speaking and we couldn't hear anything. Matilda got restless and Sam turned to me. "Mom," he whispered. "I think we can go now."

Hooray! The three of us left as more parents and children tried to wedge themselves into the room. I'm sorry, but I'm not willing to wait in line for 45 minutes (while wrestling Matilda) to let my son touch a starfish. I'm just not that person. Instead, the kids and I looked at the aquarium and at the dollhouse I remember from my childhood. Then we ran up and down the skyways and went to Barnes and Noble. We had more fun looking at books there than we did at the library. It's so sad!

My only wishlist for Rochester: 1. One more indoor playgym. 2. Kourtney, Karen, and their families here. 3. A library we can use!!