Farmers Market September 1, 2009

On Saturday Karla and I took Lucy and Jack to the Minneapolis farmers market.  It was my first time there and WOW is it big!  To my surprise - not only is it produce and fresh flowers, but there are a lot of vendors selling all kinds of great items.  I had a really nice time! 

My must share purchase is a book that I bought for Jack.  A woman from Sioux Falls happened to have a booth there on Saturday and was selling a childrens book she wrote titled “Floppy Cat”.  It is a wonderful story based on a real cat that was different from rest because he had very little balance control.  The book has wonderful meaning, great illustrations and is an easy read.  Check it out for yourself – there is also a video of the real floppy cat:  www.floppycat.com

PSA – Where to find your lost socks!!! August 31, 2009

meep – meep – Public Service Announcement – meep meep

If you’ve ever wondered if your washing machine is eating your socks, I can tell you with absolute certainty, that it is very possible.

Saturday night, the washing machine was beeping.  I assumed it was this annoying  “suds” indicator that we sometimes get.  We have a high efficiency front loader, and apparently those things are a little sensitive in the suds department.   So, I hit reset and we left for the night.

Sunday morning, it was still going off, and driving Kurt crazy.  So after trying the usual tricks to get past the error, I consulted the manual, which informed us it was some sort of a draining issue.   So, we unplugged the machine, reset it, tried again.  Still not working.  Meanwhile there is still a load of partially washed laundry inside sitting in about 6 inches of water. We throw the sopping wet clothes into the sink and there is still a few inches of water sitting inside the machine.

Next we check the drain hose to see if it’s clogged.  Unfortunately, we can’t see each other as Kurt is behind the machine and I’m halfway inside the cabinet under the sink.  So, Kurt decides to blow on one end, at the same time as I shine the flashlight into the other.  Yours truly got a face full of disgusting water. Ewwwwwwww.  But, apparently the hose is not clogged.

This concludes the usefulness of the manual, so Kurt calls a plumber friend who gives him some advice over the phone and suggests that Kurt check the drain pump.   Which is easier said than done.  But after about half an hour of wrestling with it, Kurt removed the pump and not only found the source of the problem, but also released all the water sitting inside the washing machine onto the laundry room floor.  Great!

And what was inside the pump, but a knee high dress sock of mine that I hadn’t seen since last winter.  And it used to be black, but was now dingy grey.  Who knows how long that had been sitting in there, because the real root of the problem was a plastic baggie that must have come of one of Kurt’s pants pockets.

The only thing worse than getting the pump out, was getting it back in.  But after an hour of wrestling with it and a trip to the hardware store to buy a different type of clip for the hose.  Kurt did it and we slide the machine back under the counter and turned it on and it WORKED.  Yay!

Now, who would have thought a knee high sock would have got sucked all the way into that thing.  If that’s possible, I don’t even want to know how many baby socks have made it all the way through.

Doing Good Things… Donate Your Used Mobile Phones August 27, 2009

So, Kurt finally got himself a Blackberry a few months ago, and as a result he got a new phone for me too.  Not that I really care, I was perfectly fine using the one I had with the slightly cracked screen and it’s slightly brick-ish feel, but who am I to turn down a FREE phone.

Anyway, we got carried away with life and as I was cleaning out a drawer in preparation for Lucy’s party, I found that we had a number of phones laying around that were perfectly fine, we just weren’t using them anymore.

I thought it might be a good time to take a little trip to the Body Shop.  You know, the yummy scrummy lotions and potions chain.   What do used cell phones and lotions have to do with one another?  Well, The Body Shop collects used cell phones and chargers to donate to women’s shelters.  And what better thing for your cell phone to do, than go to someone in a bad situation, so they can get help if they need it?  It sure beats sitting around in a drawer.

So, my most recent “Doing Good Things” thing is donating a bag full of old phones and chargers.  And I’d like to encourage any of you reading to do the same.  The best part of all, The Body Shop makes it so easy.  All you need to do, is drop your phones and chargers off and they do the rest.  And you might just feel so good about your good deed that you’ll treat yourself to one of their fantastic products!

http://www.thebodyshop-usa.com/

Introducing Washies! New Vida Products on Etsy. August 25, 2009

Wild Washies!

I just posted a few sets of adorable washcloths on Etsy.  See the link below to check out our “Wild Washies” in super cute animal prints.

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=29881833

I thought I’d tell you a little bit about how we came up with this idea.   Lucy used to have these super red, dry, crackly cheeks.  I had thought maybe it was winter skin, but even as it warmed up this spring, I was constantly putting aquaphor (great product, by the way) on her poor little cheeks.  Finally, I started thinking that it was being caused by my husband (and me sometimes) using a scratchy dishcloth to wash her face after a meal.  We tried to keep them separate and even bought a different color to use for her face, but I think the material was still too rough for her tender skin.

So, one night I got the idea to sew some scraps of super soft minky and flannel together, and the washie was born.

Perhaps it’s a coincidence, but Lucy’s cheeks are now perfectly smooth and not red at all.  I’ll never use anything else to wash her face again!

Wow! Lucy is Two!!! August 24, 2009

So, I’m officially the mom of a two year old.  Amazing.

It’s not a big secret among my friends, because I’m totally a talker, but at this time three years ago, I had no idea if I’d ever have a baby.  Much less two beautiful little girls.  We were just starting our first round of IVF after over 4 years of trying various procedures and tests and treatments in our quest to start a family, and some serious soul searching around adoption, IVF or living child-less.  But we finally decided to bite the bullet and try “one last thing”.  Of course, that round was a disaster and cancelled right before the egg retrieval.  But the next round was a glorious success with one little “poor quality” embryo that turned into the most gorgeous and spunky little girl I ever saw.  And shortly after that, we conceived little Lyla, equally gorgeous and spunky, all on our own.

How things can change in a few short years!

As we were singing happy birthday to Lucy on Saturday, I couldn’t help but well up at all the joy I had in my heart at seeing MY little girl growing up and celebrating her special day, and how not so long ago, I feared I would never see that day.

What a wonderful day it was!

Baby Jack’s 9mo pictures August 20, 2009

It’s hard to believe that Jack is already 9 months old!  We had his pictures taken over the weekend by our photographer Kelli with Limesmile Images (a wonderful local Lakeville photographer).  She has taken Jack’s pictures since he was 3 months old and does an amazing job.  We went to a great location, which I was never even aware of in Burnsville - off Burnsville Parkway and Nicollet.  It has a little band shell where they have local music in the summer and various arts festivals.  Beautiful flowers and fun water falls and streams with boulders for the kids to play on/in.  Kelli posted a few pictures of Jack’s photo shoot for pre-view on her blog - check it out:

Jack’s pictures have the title: Explorin’ the Park (six pictures posted) dated: August 15th

http://limesmile.wordpress.com/

Karla has also used Kelli to photograph Lucy & Lyla.  Their pictures are amazing.  When you are on the site – you can see their adorable pictures under “Archives” dated APRIL 2009 with the title “Sweet Girlie Girls”.

Enjoy!  I highly recommend Limesmile Images for any of your photography needs.  Kelli is great to work with and you can see from her blog that she does amazing work!

Busy, busy, busy… August 20, 2009

Well, it’s been quite a busy week, or month, or year.  Gosh, I honestly do not know where the time goes.  Kurt was mowing the lawn last Saturday, and I felt bad because normally I mow the lawn, and I felt like I must have really been slacking for him to take the initiative.  Then I counted back and realized that Friday night he had met with clients, Thursday night we had taken the girls to Farmington Farmer’s Market (which was good, by the way), Wednesday had been swimming class, Tuesday Kurt had a meeting with his agents and Monday I had gone to Bunco.  Which means there hadn’t been a day I could have mowed until Saturday.

How is it that a whole week can be gobbled up by activities and yet you look back at the summer gone by and think you haven’t done a thing?  Crazy!  I tell you what.  Next summer is gonna be different.  If we have to reserve a cabin and make camping plans tomorrow, we are going to do some fun memory making things, if it kills us.

But, in the meantime, still busy…  Tomorrow should be super fun, as it’s Lucy’s second birthday and I took the day off.  I’m not even going to log in to my e-mail, nor try to do a little work to lessen the PTO time I need to use.  Just going to get up, make some banana pancakes with strawberries and whip cream.  Then after getting groceries and a few things lined up for the party on Saturday, we are going to head out with the girls to celebrate and shop.  Wooo hooo!!!

And, next week, I will focus on Vida Baby Boutique.  I think… 

Recipe of the Week! – Allison’s Birthday Cupcakes August 16, 2009

Chocolate Coconut Cupcakes – Yummy!

I started with one of my favorite chocolate cake recipes, which you can find here, but modified a bit and made into cupcakes rather than the bundt.    http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Too-Much-Chocolate-Cake/Detail.aspx   Then I added yummy cream cheese frosting and flaky coconut, as inspired by something I saw on Food Network.  I’ll definitely be making these again.

Ingredients

• 1 (18.25 ounce) package devil’s food cake mix
• 1 (5.9 ounce) package instant chocolate pudding mix
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup melted butter
• 4 eggs
• 3/4 cup warm water
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a large bowl, mix together the cake and pudding mixes, sour cream, melted butter, beaten eggs and water. Stir in the chocolate chips and fill cupcake liners 2/3 full.
3. Bake for 25 minutes, or until tops are springy to the touch and a wooden toothpick inserted comes out clean.
   

Cream Cheese Frosting

• 1 8 ounce package cream cheese
• 1/4 cup softened butter
• 2 cups sifted confectioners sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

Beat first three ingredients until smooth, add vanilla and mix again.  Frost cooled cupcakes and then dip the tops  into flaked coconut.

Happy Birthday Allison! August 14, 2009

Dear Allison is celebrating her birthday today!!!  29 again. 

Allison, I wish you all the best today and always.  I look forward to our little venture and I’m happy to be doing this with such a wonderful friend.  Have fun tonight!

Doing Good Things August 7, 2009

Earlier this week, I was struck by a thought, as  I walked past the EMPTY school supply donation basket in the lobby of the building I work in.  Well, actually it was two thoughts.  First, I thought “they” must empty the donations often, because I’ve not seen anything in there yet.  Then, I thought more realistically that maybe no one was putting things in the basket.  Which made me sad, but also reflective that I hadn’t put anything in the basket either.

So, on my lunch break, I went to Target and in addition to my normal little spree, I stopped in the school supplies section and picked up some notebooks and pencils to drop in the basket when I returned.

I felt good.

But then I started thinking about how I haven’t done much volunteering or given many charitable contributions since the being pregnant with Lucy.  I mean sure I have money taken out of my paycheck for United Way, and I participate in the workplace giving events, and I send out Mother’s March donation requests in my neighborhood for the March of Dimes (which are actually sitting on the island in my kitchen as I type waiting to be dropped off a full three weeks late.) But, it terms of a big commitment, I guess it just seems like there was never time.

This led me to realize that maybe I don’t need to make a big commitment to do good things.  Maybe I just need to do little things every once in a while and they will add up to something really good.

As so, I’ve decided that at least once a month I’m going to come up with a simple, minimal time and minimal cost way to give back to the community, then do it and post about it here.  I’m counting on you all to keep me honest, and I’ll challenge you all to try to contribute as well.

In case you are interested in doing so, those of you in the twin cities can find out more about donating school supplies at:

http://www.veapvolunteers.org/services/seasonal/back-to-school

Of course, your local school district, I’m sure would always be willing to take a donation of supplies as well.