Jackson's first Twins game!

Okay, technically his first Twins game was a month into my pregnancy, but I'm guessing he doesn't remember much from it. :) We are on "stay"cation this week, and our first activity was today's afternoon game against Cleveland. Jack had a blast! He loves watching baseball on TV, and he was very excited to see the Twins live. Here are some shots:This is Jack on the roof of our car after making a stop at the Twins Pro Shop in Minnetonka to get tickets and his shirt and hat. Now we're ready!

From the moment we entered the dome, he covered his ears. "Noisy! Cover ears!" :) He did get used to it eventually and then he used his hands for clapping!

With daddy. He actually knew I was taking the picture and refused to look at me! Silly kid.

Eating his first metrodome hotdog. Yum!


Here is Jack on Dan's shoulders talking to the usher. Jack got a little restless and they took a little walk.


All three of us before leaving. But we lasted five whole innings! Pretty impressive if you ask me. :)

Funerals. Not just for old people anymore.

I work at a church. Part of my job description includes helping families through the process of planning a loved one's funeral. I didn't enter the job knowing a whole lot about funerals, but I instinctively pictured a 95-year-old man being the first funeral I'd help a family through. Unfortunately, after almost six months on the job and five funerals later, I have yet to see that 95-year-old man's service. In fact, all five have been tragic deaths....individuals leaving this world far before their time. Our first was an 18-year-old girl who was in a car accident in Montana. Our second was a 51-year-old man who, unfortunately, took his own life. Our third was a 54-year-old woman who had a bilateral pulmonary embolism and passed away two weeks later. Our fourth was a 4-year-old boy who had a number of heart surgeries and essentially had a heart attack while playing in the yard with his family.

And our fifth, just this past Monday, was for my dear friend Julie Steiskal. Last Wednesday, almost one month shy of her 30th birthday, she tried to help a camper who slipped while wading through the Temperance River. Tragically, they were both swept away in the current and died. My initial reaction was complete shock. A friend called on Thursday morning to give me the news. I started crying right away. I honestly couldn't believe it. I had seen Julie on Tuesday morning, just before they left on this hiking trip. And now she was gone. I couldn't comprehend. My sweet son was sitting on the table with a box of Kix, watching me sob. When I got off the phone, I said, "Mommy needs a hug," and he shot up and jumped into my arms and wrapped his arms around my neck. He knew something was up and that when I said I needed a hug, I was serious. :)

I met Julie three years ago at a going away party for some mutual friends. We hit it off right away and quickly learned how to make each other laugh. We got to know each other really well through our blogs. I would read her silly stories and she would get a kick out of my weird pregnant dreams. In fact, one time I had a dream about Julie. She had married a rock star and changed her blog address to marry-for-money.blogspot.com. Well, she indulged my weird dream and actually created a blog at that address and informed all of her blog readers that she had indeed married a rock star and was going to be getting a small dog to keep in a bag. You know, like all wives of rock stars to. :)

This spring, Julie created a group on Facebook called "Come Run With Julie!" I remember her being SO excited about the group that right after she created it she said, "Erin! Do you run?" and I said, "Um, no!" But she informed me that I could still join the group and come and cheer. I didn't think that sounded like very much fun, so I decided to join the group and actually start running. (See previous post about confessions of a non-runner). On May 31, Julie and I ran the Northside 5K together and had so much fun! I'm pretty sure we both thought we were going to keel over about halfway through due to the effects of heat, sun, and tight shoes. But we powered on and survived to the end. We even have a picture of us together at the end. Smiling, no less!

There are so many things I already miss about Julie. And I know that I will keep remembering things and missing her even more. The fact that she just recently stopped drinking out of water bottles because she heard it caused "smoker's lips." I'll miss seeing her face behind the receptionist's desk here at work every time I walk out of the south offices. The calls around noon inviting me to grab lunch. Looking at the shots of her most recent photography session. Hearing about her scrapbooking weekend and seeing the fruits of her labor.

There is one thing that has remained at the front of my mind since Julie's funeral on Monday, and I truly believe God is using this tragic loss to teach me something. (I could have used a couple more days without getting a lesson out of the deal, but apparently His timing is perfect.....). Julie had an open casket, and I was very surprised. When you hear about their trip down the river, you just assume she would look too beat up. I didn't notice that it was open until I was walking down to the front to arrange some flowers that had been delivered. Part of me really didn't want to look. I wanted to remember Julie as the vibrant young woman I had seen flitting about on Tuesday, preparing to leave for this hiking trip. She had simply glowed that day. But I did look. And it wasn't Julie. Sure, it was the shell that she had walked around this earth for 29 years in, but it wasn't her. Everything that we loved and admired about Julie--the joy, the vibrancy, the natural beauty, the LIFE--was gone. It reminded me of a passage in I Samuel: "The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." Julie's heart was good. And honestly, she never really cared about appearances. Hers or others. She always looked absolutely stunning, but you knew it wasn't because she spent an hour in front of the mirror that day. So really, it was comforting to see her laying in the casket. It was just a reminder that the Julie I've known for three years was not laying in that casket--she was laying in the arms of a loving Father.

Julie, I miss you. But thank you for the amount you did in your short time here. For the lives you touched, for the laughs you shared, for the hugs you gave, for the joy you emanated. And I know you're in a much better place now. But it doesn't make it easier for us yet. And like I said on Facebook today, I'm sure you watched us all at your funeral and said, "You guys! Get a grip! You are not going to BELIEVE what it's like up here!" :)

All done

After calling in twice a day for eight business days, I have officially been released from jury duty. I never had to report in person. Kind of boring, but I'm really glad!

Sorry that I don't have any fun stories to share. :)

Don't be jealous

I have jury duty summons. Hooray for me. I am less than excited.

I actually got summons last September, but I asked for an extension and now my time is here again. Luckily I am on call-in status, so I only need to actually travel downtown if I need to be there. Still, I am not looking forward to it. I am going to load up on some books that have been sitting and waiting for me to read them.

And you better believe that if I get chosen for a case, I am sharing stories here. I mean, whatever I'm allowed to share. ;)

If I can do it, anyone can. (Confessions of a non-runner).

So, I have always had this weird desire to be a runner. It was a weird desire because no matter how much I wanted to "be a runner," I didn't enjoy the actual running. I just wanted to "be a runner" and run races and wear cool running clothes and stuff. I guess deep down, I wanted the end result without any of the work. Once I realized that that was nearly impossible....okay, totally impossible....I decided to do the work.

In May of 2005, I started a run/walk program that was to gradually take me from a walker to a runner. Well, about a month into the program, I began to have some knee pain. I tried to run through the pain, but it got worse. I went to a doctor and learned that I had really sucky connectors between my quad muscles and my knee joint. (I'm sure there's a much more technically correct way to say that). So I went to physical therapy a couple times a week for another month or so. I continued walking and doing a little running. Then, on July 7, a little blue line forever changed my life. And my running plans, as it turns out. I called my physical therapist and told him I didn't feel like running anymore. So I quit! Call me crazy, but being pregnant was enough for me to focus on. Once morning sickness ended, I was back at work and thought naps were more fun than running. :)

Fast forward to April of 2008. Three whole years later, and the urge to "be a runner" hits me again. A group of friends decided to take part in the inaugural Maple Grove half marathon and 5K. I was excited for them but was pretty sure I would be watching from the sidelines. Then one of those friends said she was doing something called the "Couch to 5K" program and that I should check it out. So I did! It was a program similar to the one I had tried three years earlier. It's broken into walking and running at various intervals for 9 weeks. Okay, obstacle number one: I had 6 weeks until the 5K. And presumable obstacle number two: I had a bad knee. Remember? Physical therapy? I couldn't do that again!

Never the less, I decided to start the program. I got a calendar and figured out how to cram the 9 weeks into 6. I got a cheap stopwatch at Target. I mapped out my course outside. And most importantly, I got new shoes. REAL running shoes. From a place where they actually measure your foot and give you a food that FITS it. (12 narrow, for the record). I fell in love with the shoes right away. And the next day, I ran.

Day 1, I jogged for a minute. Then walked for one and a half. Then jogged, then walked. The whole thing was repeated for 25 minutes. It wasn't a walk in the park to run for a whole minute, but I certainly didn't feel like I was going to die. In fact, I went on to the second phase a day early because I was feeling pretty confident. Run one and a half minutes, walk two. Repeat for 25 minutes. Okay, adding 30 seconds was a little harder than I expected. but it got easier every day. Then I was hit by the bus called phase three. Run one and a half, walk one and a half, run THREE, walk three. THREE??? What happened to two? Or two and a half? You seriously think I can just skip to THREE MINUTES and be okay with it? Well, I was okay with it. It wasn't as impossible as I made it out to be. The program continued. The running increased, the walking decreased. I surprised myself each time I started a new phase and didn't die. Before I knew it, I was running for five minutes at a time. Eight minutes at a time. Ten minutes at a time! It was crazy. And the best part? My knees were fine! Sure, I had shin splints to beat the band, but my knees were fine and that's all I cared about.

A couple weeks before the race, I was still a little leery that I would be ready. But I had registered, so there was no backing out! I was pretty sure I would probably do a combination of running and walking, but I was definitely going to do it. Those weeks leading up to the 5K included a 20 minute run, a 25 minute run, a 28 minute run, and a 30 minute run. I glanced at the program and noticed that 30 minutes of running is as high as it went. Crap! I couldn't run three (well, 3.1) miles in 30 minutes! I need an extra week! Someone, quick, call the people in charge of the Maple Grove race and tell them I need an extra week. Yeah, unlikely. I decided to factor in a three-mile run after my 30 minute run. Just to see if I could do it. Three days before the race, I ran for three miles. Unfortunately, it took me 40 minutes. But I ran for 40 minutes without stopping! Are you kidding me? No, I'm not! I deemed myself ready for the race. And I even set a goal. Break 40 minutes and never stop to walk.

Then the race day came. And it was a beautiful one! Millions of people (or right around a thousand, anyway) crowded into the Maple Grove Senior High track. About 600 were there to take part in the half marathon (crazy people!) and the rest were doing the 5K with me. We watched the crazy half marathoners start their race and took our places at the starting line. The gun (er, blowhorn) went off and we were off! Like a herd of cattle, really. We ran the proclaimed "flat, fast" course and basked in the sun in the process. I ran with my mom. Well, she racewalked. But we were together for the whole race. And just like that, it was over! I mean, after a lot of heavy breathing and hard work, it was over. But I met both of my goals. Our time was right around 38 minutes, and I never had to stop to walk!

So, there you have it. I am, apparently, a runner. And I like it! So much so that I have registered for two more 5Ks in the next month. I'm out of control! :)

Happy Mother's Day!

A few of my favorite things, #3

This is my spice rack! After 5 1/2 years of struggling to keep 1/2 empty bottles of God-only-knows-what from falling over and getting lost, I invested in the BEST invention in kitchen organization. Magnetic spice jars! They are aligned on the side of my fridge, with easy access to everything. And I can see what all of them are! And a whole shelf in my cupboard is free! I love it. :)

2 years (well, close enough)

My dearest Jackson,

You are a two-year-old! How did that happen? Two years ago I was getting used to the joy of being a mother and had a tiny (well, that's all relative) little boy in my life. Your arrival at 1:36 am on March 19, 2006 made me a mom. And that's a job I have adored from the first moment.

Your first year of life was exciting because of all of the "firsts" involved. The second year was exciting because you started to become this little person. I mean, you were always technically a "person," but you really just started growing up. You started saying things and interacting more and developing your own opinion about life. That's a fun one!

It's only been 6 months since the last update, and there wasn't a LOT of activity to report on. It is winter in Minnesota, after all. We did get to celebrate your second Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. On Halloween, we went to A Night in the Light at church and you dressed as a pumpkin! You really wanted to be a duck, but they didn't have your size. :) Your friend Eli was a puppy. You were both so cute! Thanksgiving was pretty low-key, but we learned how much you love mashed potatoes. Yum! Christmas with a 21-month-old was awesome! So much more exciting than the year before. You were much more into everything and loved opening gifts. You got lots of fun stuff from so many generous people.

January brought a BIG change for our family--I got a job! It's wonderful and I absolutely love it. But it meant putting you in daycare. Luckily we found someone that we really like and you really like being there. You have lots of friends and I think the interaction is really great for you. And you still have your Gigi two days a week, so it's a nice balance between social interaction and getting all of the attention. ;)

Your recent fascinations: guitars (Uncle John got you a mini acoustic for Christmas), monkeys (you love EVERYTHING Curious George!), trucks (especially books about trucks), fish sticks, M&Ms, going on the big boy potty (and getting an M&M for doing so!), and squirrels. Although, that's the funniest sounding word coming out of your mouth. "Queous" or something. But you know all about how they live outside and like to go on the roof. Oh, you are too funny!

We love you so much, Jack! And I think you love us too. :) Just last night, I slammed my finger in the door when I was leaving your room. When I went back in (because you weren't going to sleep very easily), you scurried to a standing position, grabbed my hand, and kissed the CORRECT finger! You just blessed my heart. You are so sensitive and loving, and I never want that to change! You are just the best kid ever. Here's to tackling the Terrific Twos with grace and gusto!

Love you darling,
Mom

A Few of My Favorite Things #2

Mess-free fun.

Jackson turned two almost a month ago, and two of his gifts are just rocking our world around here. Number one:Aquadoodle! This isn't the exact one that Jack has, but this thing is amazing. It's a mat that you put on the floor or a table, and a pen that you fill with water. When water touches the mat, it makes marks and you can draw pictures without worrying about spilling paint or getting marker on the wall or crayon on the piano (yeah, been there). The only downside (according to Jack anyway) is that the images fade to fast (as soon as the water dries). He gets frustrated. I think it's a good thing because it makes room for more pictures. Anyway, on to

number two:
Crayola color wonder! It's the same concept as the aquadoodle--the special paint, markers, and crayons can only color on the special color wonder paper and coloring book. Jackson thinks they are just awesome! We had a lot of fun with the paint today, and our art is now displayed on our sliding deck door. :)

Ah, lazy Sunday afternoons!

I believe

In the sun, even when it's not shining.

In love, even when I don't feel it.

In God, even when He is silent.

My boy the explorer

Okay, I'm still working on Jack's 2-year letter, but here are some cute pictures to tied you over. On Easter, we were at my aunt and uncle's house, and my cousin got these shots of Jackson. He cleared the shelf of a bunch of books and proceeded to, well, you get the picture. :)


I'm so proud!

I know.....

It's Jack's birthday, and I should be writing him a letter. I will. Just not right now. It's holy week, and I work in a church. Let me get to the weekend and then we'll talk.

Yay!

I got confirmation today that my Tastebook has shipped. A couple of things I forgot to mention in my last post about it is that you get to title it and pick a cover picture. My title is "In My Kitchen" and my picture is a tin of cookies. How appropriate. Coming soon - a review of the actual product, once I have it in my hands (maybe even pictures!) and A Few of My Favorite Things #2.
Happy Wednesday! :)

Semi-New Pictures

Here you go, Mom. :)

A Few of My Favorite Things - #1

Blogging seems to be going the way of the dinosaur. Or at least the way of the spider monkey, with the influx of sites like Myspace and Facebook. So, in an effort to get me blogging more consistently, I am starting a new "publication" if you will: "A Few of My Favorite Things." Now, no one tell Oprah. Although, I really don't intend to start giving away cars and flat screen televisions. I only intend to share things with you that 1)make my life easier, 2)might not (but should be) well-known by the general public, or 3)just make me glad I'm not the one in charge of coming up with new ideas.

First in the series is a website. And as someone who spends time in the kitchen, I think this is a winner!

www.tastebook.com

There are a number of things about this website that are just wonderful. It is connected to epicurious, which is a great database for recipes, so they have a collection of over 25,000 recipes from Gourmet, Bon Appetit, and many world-renowned chefs. Tastbook allows you to create your own cookbook. But the best part is that you can choose recipes from your epicurious account or their huge collection OR you can add your own recipes into their format. So, even though I am sure I could find some great recipes in all of there nooks and crannies, I am working on a book of all of the random, loose recipes I have been collecting for years. Now I can have them all in one place! And you get to pick a cover design from a handful of pictures. For $35, you start out with a credit of 100 recipes, but you don't have to order them all right away. For instance, I currently have 74 recipes in my book. I am going to order it soon, and I will have a credit of 26 recipes to order whenever I want, and I can just add them to my book (5-ring-binder). So fabulous - I have condensed my plethora of recipes and cookbooks that I only use for a couple of things into one place.

On a side note, the Oscars are this weekend, so I am removing my Widget. Enjoy the awards - I'm sure I'll have something to report on Monday! :)

Check out my Widget!

I love the Oscars. And why not share the joy with all of you in the form of a "widget"? :) Yay! Only three more weeks until the best award show of the year! (Pending STUPID writer's strikes and stuff).

I owe you a nice long post...

...but it's going to have to wait. :)

For now, I want to share something I read today that I like a lot.

"Peace. It does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble, or hard work. It means to be in the midst of those things and still be calm in your heart." -unknown

Dan in Real Life

Just wanted to let you know that one of the best movies I saw this year (see title) is at the Maple Grove Mann (cheap!) theater right now. If you haven't seen it, I would highly recommend it. And what better to do with a FREEZING cold weekend than spend it inside watching a great movie!?
Enjoy. :)

Bennett Look-alike Meter

MyHeritage: Family trees - Genealogy - Celebrities - Collage - Morph

Oh, give me a break!

Okay, I have a bone to pick with Target. It's bad enough that after Back-to-School, half of the seasonal department turns into Christmas. And of course, the other half comes after Halloween. (Hello, have we heard of Thanksgiving? Let it be a holiday! Oh, that's another post). My beef today is that now that it IS an appropriate time for Christmas stuff, I found Valentine M&Ms on an endcap. Seriously? Is someone really going to come into Target in the middle of December expecting to see pink and red M&Ms? Do people have to really plan ahead for the hugely popular holiday of Valentine's Day? I just don't get it. I'd honestly LOVE to know how many they sell before January. Crazy!
All right, I'm done.

Book Meme

This should be fun!

1. Hardcover or paperback, and why? I don't usually care. Paperback usually means cheaper. :) If it's hardcover, I do have to take the paper outside off. It bugs me.

2. If I were to own a book shop I would call it…The Book Nook. It would be next door to The Cookie Nook. You could buy a cookie and go read a book. What could be better?

3. My favourite quote from a book (mention the title) is…From Eat, Pray, Love: "In the end, what I have come to believe about God is simple. It's like this--I used to have this really great dog. She came from the pound. She was a mixture of about ten different breeds, but seemed to have inherited the finest features of them all. She was brown. When people asked me, "What kind of a dog is that?" I would always give the same answer: "She's a brown dog." Similarly, when the question is raised, "What kind of a God do you believe in?" my answer is easy: "I believe in a magnificent God."

4. The author (alive or dead) I would love to have lunch with would be ….C.S. Lewis

5. If I was going to a deserted island and could only bring one book, except for the SAS survival guide, it would be…The Bible. It sounds so goody-goody of me, but it's the only thing I've re-read and enjoyed the second time as much as (or more than) the first.

6. I would love someone to invent a bookish gadget that….Something that holds them open on a table. I didn't think it was a necessary gadget until I tried to type the quote above. :)

7. The smell of an old book reminds me of….My elementary school library. I used to check out a book about Christmas around the world. The book was ancient and I was one of only two people to ever check it out. I'm not sure why I loved it so much! I guess I just loved Christmas that much.

8. If I could be the lead character in a book (mention the title), it would be….Anne in Anne of Green Gables.

9. The most overestimated book of all times is….Harry Potter series. I'm sure the books are good (I have read the first) but it seems like a lot of hype.

10. I hate it when a book….ends before I'm ready for it to!

Tag to whomever sees this next! Corinne or Lisa!

Meet my new best friend!

His name is Mr. Clean. I've never been a fan of his cleaning products, as I tend to go for generic store brands. However, all of that changed today. He entered my life with fairly new product called "Magic Eraser" and I promise I will always have one of these truly magic products in my house. Let me explain.

This morning, Jackson and I were doing some random chores around the house. Now, when I say we were BOTH doing chores, I really mean that I was doing things, and Jack was right on my heels, undoing everything for me. Fantastic! At one point, he discovered some stickers in our bedroom, so I let him sit there and go crazy with the stickers while I did something productive without his help. At one point, things got eerily quiet in our bedroom, so I decided to check on the sticker boy. As I entered the room, I was met by Jackson, black sharpie in hand, and this:








You've got to scroll down a little bit so that it's a surprise............... :)














I almost threw up. I must have yelled, because Jack started crying. So I held him for a while, explaining that it was my fault for leaving him alone and that his artwork was really quite good. After we both settled down, I tried to remove the marks with a variety of household products. When none of them worked, I googled "removing permanent marker from wood furniture." And voila! There were tons of sites that claimed the magic eraser was exactly what I needed. Since we needed a couple of other things at Cub, Jack and I ran a quick errand. And there, on the top shelf of aisle 15, was my new man, in all his shiny bald glory:
I grabbed it and the rest of our shopping list and skedaddled out of the store. After getting Jack in bed, I started in with the magic. (By the way, the picture only shows half of the mess. I wanted to get it close up. The dresser is double wide, and he got both sides very nicely). AND BOY WAS IT MAGIC!!!! I just about cried, it was so amazing. It hardly required any effort on my part. I don't know what the sponge is made of or what is in it, but I was absolutely amazed. Here is the SAME dresser after Mr. Clean's help:

Aren't you just amazed? Seriously, I feel like I should call the company and do a commercial! :)

What Jackson WON'T be wearing this holiday season

So, a couple of years ago I ordered a pair of clearanced flipflops online from J Crew. Ever since, I have been on their e-mailing list. I recently discovered that they have a kids' clothing line called Crew Cuts. I got an e-mail about some of their "holiday looks" today, and I just want to share with you a single little boy outfit.

Here is a cashmere cable knit sweater for $98.

Of course, he'll need a shirt to go under it, so this is a classic dress shirt for $36.50 (for a limited time, it's on sale for $28.50).

And plaid pants for $185. I don't think I've ever spent that amount of money for a pair of pants for myself.

Obviously, he'll need some shoes, and what better than these loafers for a mere $88? (We'll use our own socks, since theirs are upwards of $9/pair).

If it happens to be cold, he'll also need a jacket. Here's a leather number for $350.

For a grand total of $757.50. So THIS is where the celebs shop for their kids. Heaven, help us!

Bucket List

Dan and I saw the movie "Dan in Real Life" last night. Great movie! I would highly recommend it. You won't be disappointed.

We also saw some great previews for upcoming movies, including one that looks like a sure award-winner called "Bucket List." In it, two cancer patients, played by Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson, escape from the hospital and take a trip to cross things off their bucket list---the list you make of things you want to do before you die (or, kick the bucket). So it got me thinking about this concept of a "bucket list," and I'm wondering how many people have them. I decided to start one. Actually, I started one as a joke when we flew to Connecticut in September. You know those tacky catalogs in the seat pocket in front of you--Skymall? I decided that I wanted to order something out of that catalog before I die. It was a joke, but of course it was crazy enough to make it to the "real" list. :) So, start yours. And tell me what it includes!!!

And no, I'm not sharing mine here. You'll have to invite me to lunch and tell me to bring it with.

Erin :)

Overdue pictures

I have been meaning to do this for a long time, so while I have a free moment, here I go!

This is Jackson enjoying his first juice box ever. He got the hang of the straw surprisingly quickly.


Jackson "holding" his second cousin Shane in Connecticut.


Playing his "ding" (guitar).


Jack is going to be a pumpkin for Halloween. This is the first costume test.


Lucy is enduring a smothering. What a good kitty. :)


Jammin' to some tunes!


Someone got my letter. This is Jack 2 1/2 hours into his nap on Friday. I ended up waking him up at 4:30, and he reluctantly let me take him out of his crib by about 4:45. Now, if only long naps were a little more reliable!


Enjoying his lunch. With a broom on the table. He can never be too far away from his cleaning tools.

Enjoy! Have a great week! :)

My little alligator!

Or crocodile. Or maybe it's a dragon. Nevertheless, it's the cute little "ticker" at the top of the page. It automatically keeps track of your child's age (or whatever else you want to keep track of, actually). I'm a regular on some bulletin boards at a website called Babycenter, and I always have my little critter on my posts, so I decided to share him here too. And if you ever wonder how old Jackson is, you can just come here and get that information to the day! :)

Re: Jackson

To whom it may concern,

I would like to file a complaint regarding the young male child in our care. It seems as though the boy is requiring less sleep than he has in the recent past and has consequently reduced his two naps to one. This change took place without any notice and has severely disrupted our days. A warning of a few days or a week would have been very much appreciated. I would have found some consolation in the one remaining nap becoming longer, but it has not. You must not realize how much one can accomplish during naptime. When said naptime is as much as disrupted, much of the day's chores must be delayed until bedtime, which is not an ideal time to stay up late and work.
It is inevitable that the boy will eventually give up his one and only nap. Before this happens (which, frankly, better not be for at LEAST another year--two would be better), I would very much appreciate a memo regarding the impending change. Thank you in advance for your consideration.

Sincerely,
Erin Bennett
aka "the mom"

Bethel University, here I come....again

I am officially re-enrolled in my masters program to finish this tiny little paper they call a thesis. No big deal. Just 40 or 50 pages of fabulous writing on a pertinent issue in the field of literacy education. Seriously, it's pretty much done in my head. Just gotta get it on paper. Oh, bother. Nevertheless, I am officially a graduate student once more. And hopefully for the last time. Unless I decide to become a doctor. Yeah, that sounds like me!
Wish me luck. I'm not in student mode yet. :)

Oh no! She is a verb!

If you know me, you know I like the Food Network. I could sit and watch just about anything on that channel.

If you really know me, you know there is one show I actually can't sit down and watch. If this particular show is on, I absolutely have to change the channel. I'd rather watch football. The show is Semi-Homemade with Sandra Lee.

Sandra Lee is just really annoying to me. And the concept of her show is rather odd. She makes meals, snacks, desserts, and cocktails with shortcuts--hence the "semi" in front of the "homemade." It seems like an interesting concept, but sometimes the long version of whatever she is making really is worth the effort. And again, she's just an annoying person. Blonde, too skinny, kind of snooty. You get the picture.

So I've got the Food Network on right now (Rachael Ray's 30 Minute Meals--another annoying person, but her recipes are worth the pain--it's really a whole other post...). Just before Rachael appeared, I saw a new commercial. A woman had made an impressive-looking meal and one of her guests says, "You didn't have to go to so much trouble!" and the host says, "Oh, I didn't--I Sandra Leed it!" Oh my gosh, you can't just say a name and make it into a verb! I have to say, if I were in the "biz," that would be a sure sign of my demise. So keep your ears open and please let me know if you hear of anything being "Erin Bennetted." Thank you.

Eighteen months

My dear Jackson boy,

Today you are one and a half! I used to write these letters once a month. I'm not sure where I ever found the time for that! I haven't written since your first birthday. I decided that I would write again at eighteen months and then just every birthday after that.

I can't believe it's already been six months since your first birthday. On March 19, 2007, we celebrated your first year of life. Time goes so quickly and I know that before we know it, you'll be going off to kindergarten or college or getting married. Well, I'm getting ahead of myself. But really, I need to be prepared for how quickly your childhood is going to go. If the first year and a half have gone this fast, then watch out! We're in for a wild ride. :)

You had already been walking for a little over a month when you turned one. But you continued to get more comfortable with the action and eventually started running and climbing more as the spring went on. You loved stairs, and you are still entirely too confident on them. (In fact, you just took a trip down an entire flight of stairs the other day and have the rug burn on the nose to prove it!).

Now, this is a topic that you could probably do without chatting about (especially if you actually read these later in life), but I'm going there anyway. About a month after your first birthday, I weaned you from nursing. Now, we were definitely getting to that place, but I had no idea it was actually going to happen when it did. It was Easter weekend and we were down to two feedings a day. On Easter morning, it just worked out that we missed the feeding after your nap. So I figured we would just move to one feeding a day. Well, with our schedule on Easter, it just worked out that we missed the second one too. And just like that, you were weaned. Again, not something you needed to know about, but still worth mentioning. On a serious note, the one thing I regret is having nursed you for the last time without realizing it was going to be the last time. :(

You got more and more active and loved to be outside. It was good timing, too, because by the time summer came and we could be outside all the time, we had so much fun! We spent a few summer days at the Maple Grove pool. You love the water and it was a nice chance for me to cool off too. :) We also had a small pool on the deck which you loved to play in. But I think your favorite "new" toy of the summer was your slide! It's a plastic slide from Mimi and Poppa's next door neighbor, and we put it in the lower level. Dad is pretty sure you could go up and down that slide for a half hour without getting bored of it. And you are so excited about it the whole time! You happy kid.

In the middle of the summer, we took a trip to Door County, WI with Mimi, Poppa, and Sean. We had a fun time, but the 6+ hour long drive was a little too much for you to handle. We promise not to do that to you ever again! We did have fun meeting and feeding farm animals and playing at the beach. And given all circumstances, you were quite a trooper! And it was nice to get away from home for a little while. If anything, it made us more thankful for our home and predictable routine.

Also over the summer, we got in the habit of going to the club every morning. It didn't take you long to get used to the childcare center. After a few mornings of clinging me with tears in your eyes, you started to love being there. Sometimes you don't even want to come with me when I come to pick you up! Silly goose.

One of your good friends is Eli. And since Corinne went back to work last month, I have been taking care of him a few days a week. You LOVE when he comes in the morning and always want to hold him. You are good at playing with Eli and making him smile. You even put his toys in his hand when he drops them. I'm sure you'll be a fabulous big brother someday and you'll love having a baby in the house. Just not yet. :)

Last week you took your second plane ride. Our family took a trip to Connecticut to visit some family. Mimi grew up in Connecticut, and her Mom (MY Mimi!) still lives there, along with five of her siblings. You had so much fun with all of your little cousins. They just loved you! You were the star of the weekend. We could have done without the flights, but you were such a good boy. On the day we left, we had to get you out of bed at 3:30 in the morning. Poppa took us to the airport and our plane took off at 5:30. We had a layover in Philadelphia and then took a plane to Hartford. We got so many compliments on both plane rides. People were so impressed with how well-behaved you were! On the way home, we had a layover in Chicago. It ended up being a little longer than it was supposed to because the weather in Minnesota wasn't good enough to land. Then it was delayed more and more. We didn't land until after 10:30 and you didn't go to bed until midnight! It was definitely the latest I've ever put you to bed.

And here we are today, and you are one and a half. You're a big boy! It's such an amazing thing to watch you grow and learn new things. You have such a wonderful smile and laugh and personality. And it develops more and more every day. It's awesome! I'm sure we'll have trials more than enough times down the road, but I can't help but think that this parenting thing is only going to get more fun and more incredible. You are a joy to parent. Thanks for being such a fantastic little boy. We love you so much and thank God for letting us take care of you on earth.

Love,
Mom

I'm a tropical depression

Although it may be a sad declaration, I have to tell you that I've always dreamed of having a hurricane named for me. Of course when they get really bad, then it's not cool. I mean, imagine introducing yourself as "Katrina" two years ago. Anyway, I'm not cool enough to be a hurricane this year, but I was a tropical storm and today I have been downgraded to a tropical depression. I'll take it. I'm writing it down. August of 2007--I shared my name with a really bad storm in Texas. Yeah, that sounds pretty sad.

Something that made me laugh today

Last week's People magazine had a short interview with Kevin Nealon. He is in the show Weeds, which is now on DVD. A couple of excerpts:

A celebrity I'd get stoned with in real life: Brad Pitt. We'd talk about what it's like being with Angelina Jolie and, like, do you still check out other women? Then maybe we'd compare notes on being a sex symbol.

Having a 6-month-old son with wife Susan Yeagley: We're hands-on parents. It's us and only us that drop him off at daycare and choose the nanny.

:)

Vacation!

So, I still owe a few things before I can get on to our Door County vacation report.

1) Our week with Marissa, our friends' 2-year-old. Our friends Brant and Nicole went on a rafting trip to the Grand Canyon and left their daughter with us for the week. It was so much fun. We got a chance to try out the "two child" thing, and I think we did pretty well! Both Marissa and Jackson are such easy kids, and they played together quite well.
2) A picture of Jackson pointing to his belly button. Still working on this one. I'll get it soon. I'm very sorry, Mike and Jenny. :)

Now, on with the Door County news. On Saturday, July 14th, we packed up my dad's SUV and embarked on a drive across the entire state of Wisconsin to the peninsula of Door County. Poor Jack didn't know what we were doing to him. Of course we tried to leave around a naptime in hopes that he would sleep well in the car, but that didn't exactly happen. Once he would fall asleep, his head would begin to drop and he would startle awake. But we eventually got to our destination, a lovely little cabin on Clark Lake, an inland lake on the Lake Michigan side of the peninsula. We came to learn that the location wasn't very child-friendly, so it was a bit of a challenge keeping Jackson safe and entertained, but we had enough other things going on to make the time fun. The poor boy also didn't sleep very well the whole trip. The three of us had an unfinished attic for the week, and he was just so out of his comfort zone. He never actually napped in his crib, and nights were a little trying. But again, we survived! Our days were spent at a couple different beaches, a couple different petting farms, lots of fun shops and restaurants, and a winery. Here are some photos from our adventure. Enjoy! :)


Kayaking with Poppa. Notice his cute little life jacket--that's his favorite part!

Blowing bubbles with Mimi.

Kissing a bear. What a nice boy.

Bottle-feeding a baby goat at a farm.

A day at the beach!

Just relaxing.

Asleep with Mimi---this is how most naps happened all week.

Gotta love it! A diaper and sneakers. Classy. :)

Driving a tractor all by himself.

Working on the farm.

Feeding friendly goats.

Feeding friendly horses with Uncle Sean.

Dan and me on our 5th anniversary.

One of the happier moments in the car, watching Little Einstein on the DVD player.

Yay! I've been meaning to get this done all week and now I'm done!
Have a great day! :)

Get out of town!

That's what we are doing. Getting out of town. Tomorrow morning, we will be on our way to Door County, WI for a week with my parents and brother. A much-needed break and we are so excited! It will also be nice to have a week off from making cookies.

Coming next week:

• Tales of our week with Marissa. Our friends went away for a week and left their 2-year-old with us. It was fabulous, but we're glad we only have one child right now. :)
• A picture of Jackson pointing to his belly button (requested by Mike and Jenny). It's really cuter than it sounds.

Have a great weekend!