Hmmm....What should I write about?

I love blogging.

I love me a good cup of coffee while sitting in front of the computer and catching up on all of the favorites in my blogroll.

I also love updating my friends and family about the latest and greatest news of our lives.

I know it has been over a month since I last posted. I have been wracking my brain trying to think of something interesting, cute, inspirational, and funny enough to share. All I could come up with are these mundane tidbits of my life [that didn’t quite make it as facebook statuses :) ]

-I knew I was a grown-up when I put an address label on my cake pan before taking my homemade dessert to a baby shower.

-When I turn my back, my son drinks out of the toilet. What kind of parent lets their kid do that?!  He is all boy.  Scars and all...

-I recently went to a new dentist. Did you know there is now an option to have the fluoride painted on, instead of the dreaded trays and suction hose?

-Does anyone want to come and mow the lawn for us? It only takes seven hours! Or, you could watch L while I mow. You choose!

-I miss the old HGTV. They used to air shows about do-it-yourself projects 24-7. Instead, now the schedule is filled with real estate based programming. [Sigh…]

-One of my favorite sights in the spring is watching the tiny green buds start to peer out in perfectly aligned rows in the freshly ground soil. So proud.

-This summer, we are anxious to welcome a sweet, little niece. We will also gain a new niece or nephew on the other side of the family in the fall. L loves cousins!

http://www.meganphoto.com/

Technolog-ized

The other night, we accessed the internet from our TV and ordered a movie about social networking. 

During the movie, I checked Facebook from my phone. 

The computer started "ringing," because a call was coming in on Skype.

Earlier, I accessed my work email from my computer at home using a remote desktop connection.

I scanned a fax and sent it electronically.

I texted a client, because that is "kosher" now.

I recently took a class online from the comfort of my own home.

I Googled recipes for rhubarb bread.

I started the laundry with the touch of a button instead of a turn of a dial.

I started my car from inside the house, then talked on the phone over the radio while driving.

I paid for my gas without going in.

The lines were too long at the store, so I checked myself out.

I missed my show, but was able to watch it later on the DVR.

I took a picture, and was able to share it with the world within seconds.



What is next?

California Celebration

In mid-February we had the privilege of being a part of J’s sister’s wedding day in California. The entire trip was fun-filled and included many firsts.

We spent some time at the beach…



Went to Hollywood and visited a wax museum...


Took a nice drive through Beverly Hills to potentially sneak a peek at famous people, and checked out the Walk Of Fame…



The next day was spent at Disneyland. Part of the fun was seeing L and J experience it for the first time. It really is fun for all ages!


"Sass Sass" and "Bun’s" wedding weekend was truly amazing. She invited us girls to an authentic tea party, boba drinks (Google it) and pedicures. The eve of the wedding ended with the groom’s proud parents hosting a delicious dinner and time with family and friends.


The wedding day was even more amazing. The rain did not crush any spirits; we were all too excited! C wore a modified-version of her mother’s wedding dress, and she looked stunning. Our niece’s flower girl dress was also made from J’s mother’s dress.


The wedding and reception were held just off the beach at an old casino in San Clemente. The venue was amazing, and the entire event was very well decorated and coordinated. It was humbling to see so many Minnesotans there to support the newlyweds.



Now that they are married, we are beaming with pride seeing how mature, inspirational, creative, understanding, fun and responsible their relationship is and will continue to be. Check out her blog at http://cassieland.me/.


The day after the wedding, our return flight was cancelled due to poor weather in Minneapolis. What do we do now? We started calling and found out the earliest available flight home would be three days later. That meant 3 more nights in a hotel and 3 more days of missed work. This is not going to fly. So, we hopped in the car to ride eight hours to J’s grandpa’s house in Phoenix and caught a flight home the next morning. Now, we can laugh that our seemingly-out-of-the-way side-trip was the fastest way home!

Cake “flops”

Before I begin the actual post, you should know that this is my second time drafting this message.  Against my better judgement, I would like to tell you why...

Here I am at the computer composing a post when the doorbell rings.  It is common for the doorbell to sound when we use the microwave, plug something in, or just out of the blue.  Old house = old wiring.  So, being that I am still in my pajamas (Hey, I enjoy my day off as much as Bruno Mars), I did not get up to check the door to see if this was a fluke or if we actually had a visitor. 

A minute later, the power went out and the computer shut off.  Shoot!  I lost everything. 

I got up to look out the window, and sure enough, there is someone in the yard working on the electrical box.  He was probably checking to see if anybody was home before shutting off the power, and I never answered the door.  I have learned my lesson; I will check to see if it is a false alarm when the doorbell rings from this point forward.  Now on to the post...




My friend makes these amazing creations for different occasions and I’ve been curious about them since she featured them on her blog: http://alongcameswaune.blogspot.com. It was so inspiring to see what her finished product looked like, and my mouth watered just looking at them!

These Cake Balls and Cake Pops originated from a genius blogging baker, http://www.bakerella.com, whose recipe has gone viral and landed her [what I consider to be] fame and fortune. Since first hearing about them, I have seen other friends making creative cake pops for baby showers and they have been featured in food magazines.

So, imagine my excitement when I had the idea that these “cake balls” would be perfect to serve at L’s 1st birthday party. I collected numerous cake mixes and frosting flavors.

I baked, crumbled, and mixed...

Then I rolled and dipped, taking pictures along the way hoping to blog about how great they would turn out…

In the end, after taste-testing, neither my husband nor I thought it would be a very good idea to serve my “cake flops” to our guests.  Sadly, they were hidden in the deep freeze and replaced with classic cupcakes for the party.

I must be doing something wrong.  My best guess is that I have not perfected the cake-to-frosting ratio yet, or I am using the wrong cake-and-frosting-flavor combinations, or it may simply come down to the fact that I do not really care for cake in the first place. (I know, a gal who loves sweets as much as I do doesn’t like cake?! That’s crazy talk!) Whatever it is, I wish the rest of you who have attempted-to-make or indulged-in this novelty the best of success and delicious-ness!


If you are curious to learn more, please visit the links above to see how these ladies succeeded…. I’ll leave the cake pops to them!

Mine, mine, mine

It seems that the local flood is on everyone’s minds these days. The national news has been covering our region, “sandbagging”, "crest", and “sump pumps” make their way into our daily language, and I hear there are even water-filled ditches in the “desert” of western ND!

Although the road closures and detours are annoying, I am grateful for the newly-constructed, expansive bridge near our home that is invincible to the flood waters. And although the fields are so full of water that they look like lakes (and it makes seeding seem like a far away dream), I am grateful that our home and our families’ homes are high and dry.

This photo was taken while driving on that new bridge that was built to span the Red River between North Dakota and Minnesota during the spring floods.  In years past, this area would be completely impassible (unless by boat) and we could not get to North Dakota without driving either an hour south to the Big City or an hour north to Canada. In the photo, you can see the water up to the road signs on the left where the old bridge used to be.  Now, driving high above the "raging waters" and almost up to the tops of the trees, I feel like I'm laughin', like I'm golden, like I'm cheating because it's just so much easier to get around now…

It is so weird to drive on the interstate and see water for miles on both sides of the road. Airboats (like the ones from “down on the bayou”) can be seen cruisin’ along in a wheat field.  Weird.

Here is another sight that you do not see every day on the prairie...

This photo was taken from the interstate.  You can see the water-filled ditch in the foreground, then the frontage road, and more water in the field in the background.  What peaked my interest were all those little, white specks.  Those are snow geese and swans congregating on an "island." They look like seagulls in the ocean.  Right here in God's Country!



(Does the seagull/Finding Nemo reference in the title of this post make sense now? Just trying to keep you on your toes!)

1st birthday party

To celebrate this special occasion, we had a birthday party and invited family to spend the day at our place. The [St. Patrick’s Day themed] celebration included lunch with a delicious smoked turkey given to us by friends, gift opening, cupcakes and ice cream, and lots of coffee drinking and visiting. The day was so fun and thank you so much for all of the birthday wishes for him!

Much to his dad's delight, he got his first pair of hockey skates. 

His cousins had a wonderful time opening up his presents for him!

We celebrated his dada's birthday, too, since the two birthdays are only a week apart.

He has a sweet tooth like his mama, so he loves cake and ice cream!

ONE!

Little L is the Big 1… I can hardly believe it! I am reminded how it felt like we waited for-EVER for him to be born, and now that he’s here, time is flying by faster than I ever imagined. I am afraid to blink for fear of missing some of the new things he is learning.  It seems like just yesterday that I was making this phone call announcing his arrival...

Lately, he is becoming quite the daredevil. He’s been climbing on things and standing up as if to say, “Look, Ma, no hands!” He just learned how to back down the stairs, climb onto furniture and stand up in his high-chair or in the shopping cart (even though he is strapped in!)

With the recently warm weather, he loves playing outside, so this summer is sure to be an adventure!

He loves music, so he’ll start singing or dancing along after hearing only the first couple of beats to a song. At my cousin’s wedding dance, he perfected fist-pumping and disco-danced with his index finger.

L.T. [as his daddy calls him, which is short for “Little Tiny”] is not so tiny anymore! He is in a big-boy car-seat facing forward and making faces at us in the car. No more bottles for this boy; only sippy cups.

His vocabulary is ever-expanding. He says "Mama," "Dada," “ha” for hi, “Ba” for Barney the dog, "up," and more words every day.  He points at things and says “hot” and even blows on his food. After saying “I love you” he sweetly repeats “la-Lah-la!”

He loves to read, so he says “boooook” in a really low voice and comes over to sit in your lap. We’ve been working on animal noises, so he barks like a dog and moooo’s like a cow in that same deep tone.

He gives the cutest hugs and kisses. He grunts when he gets really excited, like when he sees animals or when we arrive at daycare to see his friends.

He learns by mimicking. He’ll copy a person who coughs, applies lip balm, waves, dances, wipes something off, laughs, puts socks & shoes on, and I’m sure he copies more that I don’t even notice!

Even though he is a wild child, he can be so cute when he cuddles with us before bedtime and snuggles in with his blanket.  That's my boy.