Funny Magic

In the Northland

Hi! We're back from our short but rejuvenating and very relaxing weekend up north with my dad. We arrived at sundown on Friday, and after Charlie turned-in for the night my dad and I stayed up until 1:30 a.m.(!) talking and laughing around the campfire; oh, how I love these times with my dear 'ol dad.

We had a campfire going constantly as it was pretty chilly up there, especially once the sun went down. Thankfully, it was not rainy, just cool and cloudy.

We took some time for walking in the woods during the day on Saturday - found lots of deer tracks and even what we think was some, ahem, bear 'poo....which freaks me out a bit, as I'm kinda' scared of bears. Moving on now....

I was able to make some good progress on the sweater I'm knitting for Charlie, and spent some time knitting around the campfire - more knitting was done inside the warm and toasty camper, though.

Oh, how I love it up north...October is my favorite time of year up there...so cool and crisp and pretty.

But having to "powder your nose" in the outhouse??? Man, it's dang cold, especially when nature calls in the middle of the night! (That would be the good 'ol outhouse on the left.)

How was your weekend?
 

We Went to the Fair...

...and had a whole lotta fun, of course! Here's the proof in pics:

The Grand Entrance

Cheese curds and bacon on a stick. Yummers!

In the House of Travelling Reptiles with Charlie.

Tried to win something big and soft and fuzzy for Juliet but failed miserably. Whaahh!

Wandered around on the Midway and went on a few rides....

Not this one, though:

We'll save that one for next year......

We Heart Hart Lake

This past weekend we made a quick trip up north to my dad's property on the lake:

We set up the tent right away,

and then got busy hanging out on the little deck outside the camper:

It is an extremely peaceful place to be...very quiet and remote, just a couple other people with places on the lake. Most of the time, it's just the five of us and some chipmunks, woodpeckers, and deer.

After supper hubby got into Skipper mode and we went out in the boat to explore the waters.

The water level is really low this year due to our lack of rainfall - not too low for trying to catch the big one, though! Here's Charlie doing just that:

He was fishing rather shallow with a leech on his hook while hubby was slowly paddling when suddenly a big 'ol fish jumped and splashed and took his bait - while he was reeling it in, though, it spit out the hook and swam off. Lucky fish!

Juliet wants to learn how to fish, too, and I felt bad because we forgot to bring her little fishing pole along. But we'll be heading back there next month, and I'm gonna teach her how to fish for sure. Lunkers for everyone, I say!

After fishing we had a campfire, and at one point, as I was making my way in the pitch dark to the outhouse, I noticed a bright little light flickering ahead of me, then a couple more, and more and more....and they were fireflies! I couldn't remember the last time I saw a firefly, so I called for the kids and we spent some time watching them flit about in the darkness and even got close enough to see one sitting on the leaf of some tall grasses. And then I continued on my merry way to the outhouse, while the kids rejoined grandpa and hubby for some sticky-messy marshmallow roasting before bedtime.

I heart Hart Lake. I hope you've had some good getaway times this summer, too!

Go Local :: Week Six

On Saturday we went to the farm for a 4th of July lunch with family.

It was so fun to visit with everyone, and just as much fun to spend some time in here:

We came home with a couple bags of fresh-picked beets, peas, and onions. Yum!

Okay, gotta run - Juliet's begging to go to the park, and if I don't get my rear in gear she's gonna freak. "Mom, can we go now? Please?! I've been waiting to long!"

(Signing off now with a photo of some flowers: "Still Life with Sweet William and Ants.")

Have a good day! More Go Local here!

On Cookies, Butter, and Prom

Not long ago we finally got around to making these cookies:

They were very scrumptious, although someday I wish I would stop overbaking my baked goods; for the love of pete I just cannot bake my cookies properly; between getting distracted and forgetting to turn on the timer I guess I'm doomed until the kids fly the coop and my ability to concentrate on one thing at one time from start to finish returns. Oh well - crispy cookies are always good for dunkin' in coffee and/or milk, right?? 

Which turns my attention to thrifty matters: my mom was visiting while baking the aforementioned cookies and at one point she asked, "Don't you save your butter wrappers like Grandma used to do?" Well, I didn't, but now I do:

Apparently, my grandma used to save her butter wrappers in a little ziploc bag in the fridge, and when she needed to grease a pan she'd take out one of the chilled wrappers and just schmear the leftover butter all around the pan. Neat'o, I say! I tried it this past weekend while making some rhubarb bread and it's a pretty slick little trick.

(This is me, circa' 1978 or so, with my Grandma. She passed away over 15 years ago, but goshdarnit, I still miss her...)

In other news, did you know that Natalie will be hosting a Prom this Friday the 15th? Yes, that's right, and you know wanna go! Here's the invite:

The Class of 2009

Interwebs High School

requests the honor of your presence

at

the Senior Prom

"Enchanted Evening"

on

Friday the 15th of May

Two thousand and nine

Go here for complete details, and perhaps I'll see you there - I'll be the one in the long pink dress drinking a two liter of Sun Country Wine Cooler in the parking lot - good times for sure!

On Motherhood

So I was reading one of Melissa's posts over at Tiny Happy and felt inspired to play along by responding to the prompt: What are five things you like (or dislike) about being a mother? This is part of an 'Around the World in 80 Clicks' idea started at Her Bad Mother, here, where mothers write their answers, then tag five other women from their own country, or overseas.

Here's what I like, in no particular order:

1. I like being there for two little people to count on no matter what. It fills me with a sense of purpose in this world.

2. I like taking vacations and going on adventures with my kids. It may not be as relaxing, but it sure is a heckuva lotta fun. A kid's first airplane ride? First overnight in a tent in the woods? First time fishing on a lake in Minnesota? Priceless for sure.

3. I like that being a mom has led me to become more compassionate and patient than I ever thought I could be; I like to think that I'm less of a wound-up and worried sort (read: less self-absorbed, perhaps? All things knitterly and all crafty endeavors excluded from this declaration of course!).

4. I like that what once might have been "old" to us is new again when experienced with a child. Dandelions leaving yellow stains on the nose, finding the moon in the sky during daylight hours, the silliness of birds arguing over their lunch of seeds at the birdfeeder outside our window...I could go on.

5. There's really nothing that I dislike about being a mother, and I'm not just saying that with faeries and butterflies flying about my head and a double rainbow gracing the background. Rather, it's with the knowledge that if there's one thing I dislike about being a mom, it has everything to do with how I perceive and judge myself as a mother. In other words, it's a challenge to keep those overly-critical voices at bay, although I can also appreciate this so-called "personal maternal barometer" that keeps me inspired and, hopefully, my kids as well. (Here's hoping I'm making a lick of sense, here).  

Anyhoo, Mother's Day is fast approaching, and right now I just wish I could give all of you ladies out there who mother, love, spend time with, care about, teach, and laugh with kids a big 'ol hug and pat on the back while simultaneously shoving a glass of wine (or a mocktail, if you prefer) in your hand, whether you're a mother or an aunt or a grandparent or a good friend. (Que the butterflies and rainbows, please!) We all know that bringing up kids in this world isn't easy by any means, but the rewards and benefits are huge - I have to believe that.

Feel free to play along if you wanna, and let me know if you do!

Party Girl

A few pics of the early birthday party we had for Juliet on Sunday:

Pink frosted vanilla cupcakes. (I used this recipe. They were good.)

Friends and family, also very good.

The party girl was served four mini cupcakes, and she ate them all.

I even managed to crank out a handmade birthday crown for my almost-four-year-old. (I followed Jessica's excellent tutorial here.)

Happy Tuesday!

Making the Most of Winter

The other day was perfect for sliding; it was a warmish 28 degrees, so hubby and I took the kids and Toby to one of the local parks for some exercise and fresh air.

Anyone remember playing "Snow Tag?" Where you essentially stomp out a big circle in the snow with intersecting lines in the middle, like a pie...?

(Here's Juliet tagging me...)

So you play tag, but the trick is that you have to stay on the lines you've stomped-out while running away from and/or chasing each other.

(Here's me chasing Charlie...Mama can still busta' move when she needs to!)

We had a blast, and I'm glad we got out and enjoyed the day because we're back into a deep freeze now. All told, though, I think we've been making the most of winter thus far - we've been ice skating a couple of times, sledding quite a bit, and even snowmobiling with friends once. (As soon as I went to take pics of the snowmobiling expedition (Charlie drove a sled by himself for the first time!) the camera told me it's batteries were dead. I held my tongue and let the profanities fly about in my head...frickin' Hoover Dam!)

Have a happy weekend people!

Holiday in Review

Wow. Has it really been a week since I posted?? I've been a busy little beaver...in the days leading up to (and including) Christmas I put in 56 hours at work while simultaneously getting myself and my little family ready for celebrating. (Right now, though, the kids are with Grandma for the weekend while hubby and I get the chance to rest-up and chill-out. Drinks and a movie last night, an entire day today for reading and doing absolutely nothing...a recipe for bliss. Total bliss!)

All told, though, we had a super holiday complete with snow and sliding...

Christmas Eve day we had lunch and opened presents with my dad before I headed-off to work. Christmas day was spent here at home with the kids and at the nursing home visiting (and singing) with my mother-in-law before heading-off to work once more, and yesterday we celebrated with family at my mom's. Despite being busier than all get-out, I'd say it was one of the nicest holidays ever. But then I say that every year...

I didn't take many (if any) pictures of the festivities this year, though; I just didn't want to. (These pics of the kids sliding were taken by hubby.) I guess I felt like just watching and enjoying, as opposed to doing anything more. But I do have plans of devoting an entire post to the wacky gift my hubby gave me this year. And believe me, it is worthy of a post entirely unto its own!

I hope you had a great holiday, too! Here we go into the new year...

Halloween! (A Review)

It came, it went, and it was great. I love Halloween....

Charlie was Elvis this year, sprayed-on black hair color and all. Yeah, we're a family that's instilled a love for The King early-on in the lives of our children. (Case-in-point: before Juliet even learned to walk, and as soon as hubby put on our Elvis Live in Memphis cd, she'd get real wide-eyed, stop whatever she was doing, and start bouncing. And bouncing. And bouncing. She loved it!)

And here she is as Snow White this year. (Yesterday it was Sleeping Beauty, today Snow White. But then a girl has a right to change her mind whenever and however, no? And minions fall into place as ordered...! Well, at least on holidays, anyhow.)

Me? I did it up this year, too. Took some cheesecloth and hot-glued plastic spiders all over it, then draped it around myself like a shawl and, voila, I became "The Spider Queen." (I got the idea from Martha's Halloween magazine that I picked up last year. Such great stuff in there!)

I'm also happy to report that Hubby got into the act, also, as Professor Severus Snape...

 ...here, looking quite disapprovingly at his student, hamming it up for the camera.

Oh, we had fun. Sloppy joes and chips for dinner, trick-or-treating all around the neighborhood with the kids and my dad while Professor Snape stayed behind to tend to the "most unruly children asking for candy..."

I'm already looking forward to next Halloween!