Twins Territory

This spring has been ridiculous.  Up until a few weeks ago there was still snow on the ground and some places around here had even close to a foot still just a little over a week ago.  It's been cold, rainy, windy.

Today the sun was actually out but it was freezing!

We had tickets for the game today and neither Brian or I really wanted to go due to the cold temps.

We thought about selling them or giving them away and then Friday night decided that maybe one of us should take Hannah.

I wanted to surprise her somehow so we didn't tell her or give her any hint until about an hour before we needed to leave.  Both girls were sitting on my lap and Brian was across the room on the smaller couch.

Brian: "Hey Hailey, wanna get Teriyaki wings tonight from Chicken Wild?"

Hailey:  "YAY!"

Hannah: "Hey, I wanna do that too."

Brian: "Well you can't because you are going to the Twins game tonight with mom."

Hannah: "WHAT?!  I am going to the ballgame?!  AHHHHHHHHH!"

She was SO excited!  She grabbed me and hugged me and could NOT stop smiling.

FIRST STOP: Golden Glove

Around 4:30 it was finally time to leave.

We brought scarves, gloves, jackets, sweatshirts and a blanket.

It was a Twins hat giveaway night so we wanted to make sure that we got there a little early so we could get hats- although it was so cold I should have trusted there was NO way we would be sold out.

SECOND STOP:  Face Painting

 We decided to walk around the stadium to check things out.  She saw the face painting and didn't ask if she could get her face painted but when I asked her if she wanted to she got super excited and jumped right up on the chair.  She picked out the design she wanted.

We started out by choosing our dinner- nachos and a pretzel with cheese.

Went to our seats and started in on our snacks.  As the players were announced she would cheer and 'whoop whoop' as they called names that she recognized- Mauer, Morneau.  When Chris Parmelee was announced her eyes got wide and then she stood up and started cheering like crazy.

Of course there is no relation but she could have cared less.  She was a fan!

It was pretty cold but that didn't stop us from having a good time.

Throughout the night Hannah would just look over at me and smile.  

We talked a lot and sampled most of the snacks the ballpark has to offer- cotton candy, peanuts, mini donuts.  We left during the end of the 7th inning (Twins were ahead 8-5) which worked out well.  It was nice to walk back to the car and not have to worry about my date getting trampled or lost in the crowd.

On our way out she insisted that she take her picture with 'this guy'.

The whole way home she talked all about our night- the mascot race, the woman dressed in the fish costumes, the kid with the sideburns on the jumbotron, the guy who hit that ball far, how good the mini donuts were....you get the picture.

Thanks for coming with me Bean!  I am so glad you had a good time!

That's my girl

That's my girl- FOR SURE!
Prefers windows down, hair blowing in the fresh air,  music LOUD and dancing, gotta be dancing.
Our playlist lately contains the following:
Suit and Tie by Justin Timberlake
Cups by Anna Kendrick
Hurricane by Bridgit Mendler
Gone, Gone, Gone by Phillip Phillips
Just Give Me a Reason by Pink
Thrift Shop  by Macklemore
Get Out by Casey Abrahams
Rocketship by Shane Harper
Dynamite by Taio Cruz

Isn't she cute

Just the motivation I needed to bust my camera out to take some pictures!

Now if only today's rain could stop....

Bobby the Miracle Worker

 Do you see the super powers?

Bobby has become a household name around here.

Hailey is especially a fan and as she walks through the house she points out to us all of the things she knows about Bobby.  

She'll pick up Brian's deo- "Bobby wears this kind." (then she smiles)

See a man who is hair-challenged on TV- "Bobby have no hair guys" (then she smiles)

See a white SUV on the road- "Bobby drive a truck that color." (smiles)

you get the picture

Well, last week Hailey was the first to bring home the virus that started going around her daycare.

She started by vomiting which then turned to tummy pains and loose stools.  Loose stools produced a sore behind which then in turn created a little lady that was scared to poop, afraid that it was going to hurt her bottom too much.

After a few days of this she was finding herself prisoner to the couch with frequently yelps that her tummy hurt.   Time to call in the big guns....

I texted out a favor to Kristin- 'Any chance Bobby could call and talk Hailey into going poop?'

Within an hour Bobby was on the phone telling Hailey all about how he had just pooped and he would really like it if she could to, he would be so proud of her.

At first she was THRILLED to hear his voice on the phone, then after he made his request she covered her face and shunned the phone.  She was NOT happy.

Oh well, we tried- thanks Bobby for trying- I guess you can't get this girl to do everything.

Or can you???

About 10 minutes after we hung up with Bobby and Kristin it was bedtime.  Hannah and I went upstairs to settle her in for the night and then we heard Hailey scream out a little from downstairs.

After I got Hannah down I came down to see Hailey and say goodnight.  She was lying in her bed and Brian informed me that she just (FINALLY) went poop.

Seriously?!  Is there anything this guy can't do?!?!

Thanks man!  Really- I owe ya!

Hailey the Rockstar

Hailey is FULL of personality....and I mean FULL.

Multiple times a day she cracks us up with her phrases and moves.

We were outside tonight and she wanted to sing and dance but only after she demanded that Hannah and I make her a chalk stage to perform on.  I think we got a little diva on our hands.

Tonight's show included the song 'Cups' by Anna Kendrick and 'Work this Out' by the High School Musical cast.

Point, Step, THROW

Tonight was Hannah's first night of T-Ball.  She was very excited and really wanted the whole family there to watch her practice.  This T-Ball session she is in is a very short 3 week session.

2 evenings per week for an hour- 6 sessions total.

In these sessions they will teach the kids basic skills and rules.

How to throw, catch, field balls, run bases, etc.

There are a total of four teams that meet at this time slot: purple, red, green and light blue.

When we got to the field you could see Hannah's eyes light up when she saw all of the kids and all of the excitement.  Brian walked her over to the coaches to get her name tag.  They greeted them and then told them to grab a ball and start warming up- so they did.

Brian on one side and Hannah with her back to me (which is one reason why I don't have any good pictures of that).  They played catch until the coaches called everyone over to get started.

They started by doing stretches and running a short distance.  Then on to the drills.

Throwing- point, step, throw!

Fielding and catching pop flies and always starting in the Ready position.

By the way.....NOT just cause she's my kid- she is one of the best throwers on her team, really.  Can't catch a ball yet to save her life but the girl can throw!

Here is how Hailey does T-ball.

Hailey did really well sitting and watching Hannah.  Every so often she would yell "Hi Hannah!" and wave to her but Hannah was paying attention to her coach/team so she never did turn around and acknowledge whether or not she heard her.

I couldn't help but hold back the tears as I sat from the sidelines and watched Hannah and Brian together.  It was so sweet and seeing them BOTH really enjoy spending this time together just melted my heart.

Hailey got bored with about 10 minutes left so we played 'High Five'

So far so good- looks like Hannah just might be joining the full summer T-ball season!

Mommy- I wanna help!

Your kids can help too much.

Trust me.

It's awesome, don't get me wrong but at the same time sometimes you just wanna do things alone.

I was trying to do something in the kitchen and my little velcro-kid Hannah came running to my side.

"Mommy- I wanna help you!"

Me:  "Buddy, I would love your help but today it would be great if you can just stay out of my way so I can get this stuff done."

Hannah:  "But mommy, I want to help."

Me:  "Ok, go stand over by the coats and put one hand on your belly, the other in the air like this (demo), then stand on one foot.....yes! like that! perfect!  Now don't move."

Hannah:  giggling, giggling "Mommy!"

Only took her about 20 seconds to realize that it was a prank but it sure was funny.

A few times since then she has asked if she can help and I would say "Oh!  I know how you can help"

She would then say "I know, I know (while hanging her head) and then stand on one foot while raising her arm.  Of course we both burst out into giggles by then.

National Scrapbooking Day 2013

Today is National Scrapbooking Day- or maybe it's just the end of National Scrapbooking Week.

It's also Troy's Birthday.

We met up with the Alguire's at Old Chicago for dinner and after a quick trip to Kohls, Gretchen and I had made plans to get some pages done.  I love that she is still scrapbooking and I can always count on her being 'up' for getting some work done.  We are both far enough behind to feel bad but remind ourselves constantly that there are many kids that don't have scrapbooks or pictures at all to look back on so anything we do is better than nothing and more than expected.  I didn't get too much done tonight but I also didn't have very high expectations.  Little by little.

I tried to spend a little time earlier today picking out the papers I wanted to use with the pictures so that I didn't have to spend time tonight doing that- it helped a lot.  I need to do that more often.

I love how this page of Hannah with Jennie turned out.  I have loved these pictures since I took them and after all these years seeing how their relationship is still this sweet just makes this layout that much more special.

I wish the picture did this page justice.  The colors are actually super bright and the color behind the yellow flower and blue tape is a bright lime green- may need to rephotograph that in better lighting.  It's simple but actually turned out pretty cute.

This page is currently under construction.  I like it how it is but I am worried that it is too plain.  Those pictures are some of my favorites so this page needs more to capture that but I didn't want to 'rush' it.  I need to think on this one or maybe come back to it when Kari is here this summer and can help me.

One thing that IS happening this summer.  Scrapbooking at the lake. We always talk about it but for some reason never do it.  It's not actually going to be as easy as we make it sound but for all seriousness- we sit on the deck most of the day chatting.  I need to multitask during those times and start getting papers matched to pictures or something- sketch out some layouts, ANYTHING!

Maybe even this fall do something that I have talked about for at least 4 years......spend a weekend at the cabin with the girls (friends, not daughters) scrappin'!

Hmmm....maybe Kari and I should plan to leave for the cabin early some weekend on a Wed night or Thursday morning by ourselves and then the family could meet us there Friday night for the rest of the weekend..... :-)

The end of an era

It was sort of bittersweet today.  Today was my last day in my current (soon to be former) office.

 On Monday I move into my new work area and life as I know it will change.

Most of the Epic team is moving upstairs to the 8th floor.

The space is not very large so our work areas are less than ideal however we continue to be told that 'this is what major companies are doing now....nobody wants cubes anymore, etc, etc'.

Here is a little preview of what we have to look forward to...

Rows of 4 in pods of 8

We have been instructed to 'only bring what you absolutely need' which as we joke amongst the team means one pen and one pencil, a few EPIC manuals and our computer.  

Most of the staff around the floors have been tossing out old paperwork, manuals from older systems and other notes and files.  

There are a total of 100 new workspaces on the 8th floor and 80%+ of them are full.  20% left open for on and off consultants and Epic resources.

Even though we haven't seen much of Jess lately, I will miss having her in our office with us- lunch just won't be the same.  Even though Joanne is constantly busy on the phones (solving all of our users issues) I will miss our little daily chats.  Even though Lola has been pulled into other projects lately, I will miss our morning talks.

There are a few things that won't be so bad about the space so I am trying to focus on those things instead of chanting "I'm going to lose my mind" over and over.  

So, goodbye old office and hello to minimalist work environment, purely eletronic files, new friends and faces and new people to learn from.  Hello to my new neighbors and the Minneapolis skyline (which we see directly out of our window).  Goodbye to a team of 7 and hello team of 100+.

Off to the penthouse we go!

Braces?!

Hate to admit it but it's been a while since I have been to the dentist.

It has been on my list of things to do for a long time and a few weeks ago I finally mustered up the courage to schedule the appointment.

It has been 5 years since my last set of full X-rays so we started with that.

When the images displayed the hygienist asked about my baby tooth- 'you know you still have one, right?!'

HUH!??!  What is she talking about.....?

Turns out the canine on my right side is still a baby tooth.  The adult tooth is still up in my gums and never pushed it's way through.  Well, long story short, the tooth up there is starting to get a mind of it's own and is starting to move downward.  Trouble is it's impacted so it is nice and sideways pushing on the roots of my other teeth.  So, I left with a referral to an orthodontist to check in about braces.

Yup- 37 yrs old and told I should get braces to wrap a chain around the tooth up there and pull him into place.  I can not stomach the idea of this.....ugh.

Happy May Day!

Went to the dentist today (will have more about that story tomorrow) so I was home this afternoon when the family got home.  I was on a conference call when they got home so I locked myself in the bedroom while Brian did a great job keeping the girls out of the bedroom.  When I finally came out Hannah handed me this basket and said 'Happy May Day Mommy'!

The basket contained a picture, special May Day note, candy/treats and a flower.

What a little sweetheart!

This girl is constantly giving me things.  Hearts cut out of paper, pinecones, berries she found while on her walk, I Love You written on napkins/menus/the small papers that wrap the silverware at restaurants, drawings, coupons, notes taped up in envelopes shoved under the door- to name a few.

It reminds me of something I saw online once that talked about how special it is when children give you things.  The thought that they don't really have anything but want to give you everything they have or everything they can.  That's pretty special if you really think about it.

Beauty Sleep

First off, I know- horrible picture.

It's hard to sneak in and take a picture when your child was put to bed and should be sleeping.

I bought Hannah a new pair of PJs that came with a free gift, this eye mask.

She knew exactly what it was and couldn't wait to give it a try.

I was actually surprised that she wanted to wear it.

She put it on when I tucked her in and said goodnight.  She was still wearing it when I checked on her when I came in to shut her door and she was self-reportingly still wearing it when she woke up.

AND....she is convinced that it helped her sleep better. Ha-ha, that one made me giggle.

Tell Kari

Hailey:  "Mom, take a picture and show Kari how pretty I look with her hat on."

She pulled this hat out today, put it on and insisted on wearing it to daycare.

It was adorable and she LOVED it- I loved that she remembered that Kari made it for her.

Get that baby!

My old coworker and friend, Patience, was in town this week from Alaska.
Right before she moved she had her first daughter, Violet.  That was almost three years ago.  Since then her and her husband, Mike, have had a son, Oscar.
She emailed us a few weeks ago letting us know she would be in town and hoping that we could all get together- an old EHR team BBQ.
Lori, Joanne and I were available and unfortunately Jessica was busy so she couldn't join us.
The forecast called for rain but all day the weather was amazing so it was hard to believe that any rain would actually fall.  Hannah and I went to the store to get our food for grilling and a snack or two to share.
On our way to the park we got a text from Brian reading 'Rain will be there in 50 minutes'.
Shoot!

For anyone that was there you would know that it did start to rain on us, only after the first park we went to had torn down the playground equipment and 'community grills' no longer exist.  You'd know that Joanne made a special trip home to get her grill only to find that the second park had grills but no shelter to keep us dry.  You'd know that the wait at Snuffy's looked about an hour long.  You'd also know that we finally ended up at the perfect location.  Central Park- but you would also know that  Patience and Mike had already spent their day there.  I won't bore you with anymore details- doesn't matter how we got here.
We were here and we were hungry.

We started the grill, settled in and then spent some time catching up.
The kids took to each other like they had known each other for years.
By the end of the night they were all chasing Addy chanting "Get that baby!"
She loved it and had no trouble being the leader of that train.

The next few days was all talk about our new friend Violet, Baby Addy, and 'Violet's brother- that cute baby'.

I really appreciate that Patience reached out- it was nice to see her and although we can keep in touch over the computer, it's not the same.  It was nice to reconnect in person. Thanks for coming out guys!

Move Your Body

Today was Hannah's 3rd and final dance rectial for the year.

It was located at Fred Moore middle school by our house.  We were on time and I remembered all of her costume :-)

The girls all did such a great job!

This show they danced two new numbers- Strawberry Jammin' and Move Your Body- adorbs!

Hailey has confirmed that she wants to try dancing next year and I hope that she can crack her shyness a little bit to actually go through with it. 

Thanks to all who came out- Grandma Chris, Grandma Judy, Grandpa Denny, Jennifer, Courtney, Bobby, Kristin, Jennie, Loriann, Marlee, and Talon.

Hailey was thrilled to be able to sit on Jennie's lap for the first half and then Bobby's lap for the second half.  After the show Jennifer, Courtney, Grandma and Grandpa came over for a BBQ.  We ran to Costco and while in the car Hailey said "Hannah smell me!  I smell like Bobby!"

Oh man- Kristin better watch out!

Girls Day

Last fall Loriann and I purchased a Groupon for a one-hour Hot Stone Massage.

We tried to schedule these appts a few times and always had trouble getting in touch with them to schedule the appts so we would give up for a while and then a month or so later try again, still with no luck.  Well, we FINALLY got a hold of them and got our appts scheduled earlier this week (actual final confirmation didn't happen until Thursday evening- not sure about this place).

The day could not have been any better.

Loriann has a few redecorating projects on her mind lately and I have had a few reorganizing projects on my mind so both of us had the itch to go shopping.  We started our day around 8am and spent our morning shopping-  Kohls, Bed, Bath and Beyond, Joann Fabrics, Ikea, Michaels.  Had lunch at Brueggers and then massages- perfect timing for these with things slowing down a little bit at work at the moment.  The weather was amazing!  BEST day of the year so far!

We both agreed that we need to do stuff like this more often.

OMG I'm outside!

Do you see that?!  Blue sky!

April 25th and we are finally seeing the last of the snow....hopefully! Rumors that there is more coming next week- Ugh- when will this winter be over?!

We were at St Joe's today for an all day meeting so at lunch the team decided to take in the nice day and walk over to Cosetta's for lunch- YUMMY!

Can't wait until this sky is out to play for good!

Pencils, Crayola and Glue Sticks- Oh My!

We missed the official Kindergarten registration day because I was in Madison for work so tonight after I picked the girls up from Jackie's head ran up to the school to drop off Hannah's stuff.

They gave us a folder with some information in it.  One of the things it had in it was the school supply list.  Already?!

I guess I would rather have it now so we can be prepared but it's crazy to think that in April we are already planning for the September school year.

Hannah also received a placemat thing to start practicing her letters.  On one side are the letters with spaces for her to practice writing them and on the other were pictures with the letters and then the word spelled out.  While we were driving home I asked her to try to read the words by sounding them out and then spelling them for me.  She was doing ok until she got to the word- igloo.

"J, G, J, O, O"

So, brings me to a quick little rant......WHY in the WORLD would you hand this out to kids to learn their letters.  Do you see that letter k?!  When is the last time you have written a letter i or l like that?!

And fine, whatever, we can get over it- she can learn that sometimes people write their letters that way- but for the next 3 minutes I was peppered with questions of 'Why?"  "Why do they write their letters like that?" "Do I have to start writing my letter i like a backwards j?"  "Why do they want letters to look fancy?"

Now the green one is ok too

There is something about car washes that my girls, especially Hailey, don't appreciate.

Hannah is fine with them now but when she was little she would scream her head off if we took her through one- thank goodness she has outgrown that but Hailey is still not so sure.  She will often cry and when she is informed "I am going to get a car wash quick" she starts to freak out a little bit, especially if it's at a place that she hasn't been to before.

'The Blue One':   Brian took her to Blue Velvet once, this is a car wash that you drive into but then leave your car while the employees take your car through the wash and towel-dry sections.  She has never minded this one but for over $20 per wash and across the river in Anoka, it's not too convenient.

'The Brown One':  There is a self-wash car wash behind the McDonalds that also has a touch-free drive thru wash.  Prices range from $3-$6.  I love this car wash because it's so close and so cheap.  You get a decent wash on the outside and when you aren't looking for a like-new wash it meets the need.   

'The Window One' or 'Bubblegum One':  At the Holiday gas station by us there is a drive thru car wash that an employee works.  He/She will hand you wipes for your interior windows, spray your car down and then you pass through the rest of the wash.  Hailey does better in this one lately because Hannah has her convinced that the soap and bubbles smell like bubblegum.  They sit patiently and wait until the car is covered and then sniff like crazy to see who can smell the bubblegum first.

'The Green One':  BP station on our way home.  Touchfree drive thru wash that looks like every other drive thru touchfree wash.  As I mention that we are going to get a wash Hailey starts kicking her legs and yelling that she's too scared and wants to go home.  I reassure her that this will be just like the other ones and she will be fine.  She didn't calm down but then the wash started and it was too late.  She was trapped (that sounds so bad....).  Less than a minute in and she stopped whining- see buddy, I told you!  Hmmm....looks like something else was keeping her calm. 

I have another picture of these two almost exactly like this when Hailey was younger

Hailey the translator

Dinner time can often be the worst part of the day.

Getting these girls to stop talking, put food in their mouth and actually chew it in under 30 minutes is nearly impossible.  I have said it before and I will say it again, they are great eaters- they are not picky, they will eat but it takes them  
F   O   R   E   V   E   R !

This evening Hailey got in trouble for not eating and just wasting time messing around and pushing food around her plate.  Daddy had to yell at her a few times to get her movin.

When she was done eating she went straight downstairs and as we were cleaning up she came back carrying this note she made for dad.

Hailey:  "Daddy, this is a card for you.  It says to stop yelling!"

If she could only figure out the yelling stops when the food is consumed......