Heat wave in Brainerd!!

Today was warm enough in Brainerd to finally come out of our igloo and bring the kids outside to play!! The temps hit 46 degrees!! We brought the kids to Gregory Park for some ice skating! A man who I work with at the YMCA was having a send off party for the Special Olympics!!

We were able to borrow skates at the rink for Lauren, and Ethan wore the double blade skates that Lauren used in the past. At first, Lauren was pretty timid, but as she kept on, she gained a lot of confidence!! Ethan did not need much help from us at all!! He actually did extremely well!! I have never seen a kid as little as him do so well!! The rink also has little PVC "trainers" that help the little ones to balance on the ice and Ethan really took to these well.

After the rink, we brought the kids to the High School for a little Sledding. The sun had just gone down and the wind really got cold, so 2-3 times down the hill and we were all looking forward to hot cocoa (not to mention dry clothes!!)

Lauren's First Sleepover!!

Today Lauren had her first sleepover with her best friend Hannah!! They had a great time! They played barbies, dressed up and even made their little twin Build-A-Bears!! They decided against the bed & opted for the sleeping bags in the tent. After Lauren was talked into it just a little bit, they did actually fall asleep. Good thing that I stayed over too, cause Lauren joined me on the couch by 2am!

Lauren's snowflake

Today, I have a picture of the bulletin board that is hanging in the entrance of Lauren's school. Lauren's kindergarten class got to decorate it!!

The teacher cut out the large snowflake in the middle, and (i think) the kids got to help decorate it. The kids made little blue snowflakes and some were chosen to go on the board to surround the large snowflake. Lauren's was one that was chosen to go up on the board!! She was sooo excited!!!

Hanging out with the kiddo's (and Jon & Kate)

Tonight, we had nothing planned and nowhere we had to be, so when Brad left for bowling, the kids & I decided we would just hang out & relax. I let the decision be up to them, so it would be fun for us all. What do you think that they would pick to do?? Run around crazy?? Eat a bunch of candy and soda??

Think again...

They decided to watch a new episode of Jon & Kate plus 8, and for a snack, banana bread and tea. And, they sure enjoyed it too!!

Too Cute Tuesday

Kiddo's sleeping...

...Too Cute

Brainerd's Frozen Tundra

Here is a shot of the kids' swing set on the frozen tundra known as our backyard...

Father / Daughter Dance dress shopping with grandma!!

In February, Lauren & Brad are going to be going to a Father / Daughter Dance. Today, Lauren, Penny & I went on a little shopping trip to find the perfect dress for Lauren to wear!! She picked out about 6 or 7 dresses to try on. Of course, they all looked adorable on her, but a decision had to be made. She clearly looked like a little lady in the black and pink heart dress and that is the one that she chose. She just can't get enough of herself in the mirror!!

Visiting

We are visiting Coon Rapids this weekend and it feels so nice to be able to relax with friends!! Today, the kids and I were able to spend a good portion of the day with my best friend, Andrea. Lunch, shopping and yummy dessert from DQ were a perfect combo (even though it was below zero most of the day!!) After our all day excursion, we had the chance to just relax here at Grandma's house. In this picture, Lauren & Andrea (and Lauren's newest baby named Glowagail) were posing inside Lauren's creation, the "Tinkertoy Picture frame".

Boat

A trip to the cities had me running frantic to get the house in order after a crazy week!! Lauren had off of school today (teacher inservice), so my big helper stepped it up to keep me on track. While I was packing, Lauren kept Little Man busy. In this picture, they were playing in one of Ethan's most favorite toys, his blue tunnel. Ethan has named his toy simply "boat". Although we are not totally sure of the reason for this name, we think it may be because when it is all folded up, he likes to sit in it (kind of like sitting in a nest, or perhaps a boat??)

after a long day...

There is nothing like a napping little boy...

Wednesday in St. Cloud

Today, we had to bring Lauren in to the allergist in St. Cloud. She has been having a few more problems when it comes to her breathing, so we had to recheck her. She had a few breathing tests & we talked about triggers and where she is having problems (which is mainly during swimming and at night). Our appointment lasted over 2 1/2 hours!! Seeing that the Dr's office was also an hour away from our house and our appointment was so long, Brad & I decided that it was kind of silly to rush back to Brainerd and get her back to school in time for her to come home. So, we ended up spending the day in St. Cloud. Lauren and Ethan had received gift certificates to Toys R Us & Borders (which we don't have here in Brainerd), so I thought that I would let them use them up. Then we ended the day with a little break at the "PlayPlace" in the Crossroads mall.

Ethan chose "Tickle Me Extreme Cookie Monster" from Toys R Us. He lovingly calls him just plain "monster". He is still a little bit scared of him, but I think that he will be ok... We were really happy that he did finally pick this out, since we walked every single inch of the store & were there for about an hour...

Lauren found a bunch of books today at Borders. She bought a Planet Earth workbook set. It includes 4 workbooks & 4 sets of flashcards about land animals, water animals, air animals & earth geography. She also got a fantasy (long) chapter book called the king in the window. Lauren and I are going to try to chip away at this one at night and on the weekends. She also got Ethan a set of Baby Einstein Animal Discovery flash cards. What a nice sister!!

We also went into the "used" book store to see if they had any copies of Harry Potter & the Half Blood Prince. I really want to read it to her, it would be such great "girl time". Plus it comes out this summer & we have seen all of the rest of the series!! Well, we could only find a hardcover copy there, so no such luck. However, I did find 3 other books for Lauren. Junie B. Jones is a series that is geared towards Lauren's age group, and I found a few books from that series for her. I also found a book called The Tail of Emily Windsnap. Hope this one's good too!!

Too Cute Tuesday

Lauren at swim lessons tonight...

Bathing Beauty!!

Too Cute...

The good old days!!

Recently I have been fortunate enough to find an old friend from elementary school whom I havn't seen since we were like 8. We have been talking for about a month now, and it sure does bring back the good old days!! A few days ago, she sent me a picture of us when we were little. I will share it with you here. Please try to hold in your giggles...

Wingardium Leviosa!!

Today, Lauren wanted to have her picture on the blog, so I had to promise to use these. She was playing Harry Potter!! I also found some neat stuff on my photo editing software & so I embellished them a little bit!! Neat huh?? Well, this will be a short one, I am looking forward to a glass of wine and vegging on the couch with my hubbie!!

Little Man & "Peach"

My little Ethan has a new friend. His name is "Peach" Peach is a little bear. Ethan came up with his name all by himself!! Here is a picture of Ethan & Peach. He is teaching him to play with his favorite toy, his "choo-choo"

PS Yes, he has him "dressed" in one of Daddy's socks...

Ready... Set... Sell!!

Today, Lauren, Ethan & I went to Lauren's Girl Scout Cookie Kickoff Party!! When we arrived, there was already a sea of Daisies and Brownies with a few Juniors scattered thru. We were congregated in the school cafeteria, and they had set up stations for the girls to visit. You hear the bell, you switch to the next station!! We sang songs and got our faces painted. We also made "thank you" cards for someone who the girls thought would buy cookies from them. Lauren made hers for Mrs. Vagts, her Kindergarten teacher.
They also got to sample the new cookie, the "Daisy Go Round" at the snack station. Now this, for me, was the scariest station of all. I did come prepared with a snack and a drink for Lauren & Ethan to have while the rest of them ate cookies, I always do. However, They chose to serve vanilla pudding along with the snack, so my nerves were on HIGH!! Lauren opted to sit at the end of the next table, so that she was not sitting directly next to anyone with pudding (her choice, not mine, but I was relieved when she did). Ok, we got thru this without incident. (You just don't know how scary it is to be in an environment that you can't control when your kids have severe food allergies. There is nothing scarier in the world to me.)
Next, we moved on to heads up 7up. The girls had a great time, but it was pretty funny(not many knew how to play, so let's just say that it was interesting...) Now, it was time to wait... We could not receive our paperwork until 9pm on the nose, so we waited & watched the clock for a while. It was nice to be able to sit & talk with some of the moms, I don't get that chance too often. Brad showed up at this time too, kind of a nice break for me & the kids (Ethan was sooo tired & bored out of his mind) so it was really nice to have Brad get there & want to play with him!! (Thanks Honey!!) So, after a looooong night, we finally got our cookie papers and we were on our way!! Sell, Sell, Sell!!

PS the close up of Lauren?? Yeah, she took that herself. It is her new obsession!!

The BEST Chocolate Chip Cookies EVER!!

Ok, so I have been trying to find that "just right" Chocolate chip cookie recipe. I have to substitute lots of different things to make baked goods work in my house. I have found the best milk-free, egg-free, nut-free cookie ever!! You can make it full dairy & egg and add nuts if you want to though!! I will write out the recipe with all options!!

1 C brown sugar
3/4 C sugar
1 C butter (or dairy-free margarine or dairy-free shortening)
***I used 1/2 cup D.F. margarine and 1/2 cup D.F. shortening***
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs (or 1 Tbsp Ener-G egg replacer powder & 1/4 cup warm water, stir together)
2 1/2 C flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
12 oz chocolate chips (I used dairy-free, egg-free, nut-free semi-sweet choc chips)
Optional: 1 cup nuts

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

In one large bowl, combine brown sugar, sugar and butter. Beat 3 minutes on medium until fluffy. Beat in vanilla and eggs (or egg substitute). Add flour, baking soda and salt. Stir. Add chocolate chips.

Drop by 1/4 cupfuls. Flatten slightly with a fork. Bake 11-14 minutes until the edges are lightly brown. Centers will be soft. Cool 3-4 minutes on the pan and then transfer to a cooling rack.

Yum, Yum, Yum, Yum... Just look at them! How could you resist??? I have never baked cookies that look & taste like that!!

Lauren's photo debut

Today, I would like to let Lauren debut her photography skills. She was in her room setting the "kids" up for a photo shoot, so I offered up my camera. She is pretty good!! She even threw in an adorable picture of herself! Enjoy!!

Too Cute Tuesday!!

Here is the second installment of "Too Cute Tuesday"

Lauren and Burfy 11/20/05

Could they be any cuter??

photo editing

Ok, so I purchased some photo editing software, and I just finally got around to messing with it a little bit. I have been doing it for like 15 minutes, so this is (hopefully) just the tip of the iceberg as to what I can do. These are pics of the kids from last spring. Ethan (he was just a baby!!) and Lauren (swimming lessons).

Mommy's evening out!

Today, I would just like to publicly thank my wonderful husband for a really fun evening!! This morning after church, I jokingly said to my husband "You know what would be nice? If you watched Michelle's kids & our kids and you let me & Michelle go out." His response?? "OK" Where did I find this guy?? So, after making sure he was serious like a thousand times, I called Michelle and told her the unbelieveble news!! So, after leaving Brad with a 6 year old, a 5 year old, a 2 year old & a 21 month old, off we went!! We started out at Applebee's for dinner, and then we realized that we didn't know what to do with ourselves!! We decided on a lazy stroll thru Target (yeah, we go out with no kids and we choose to go to Target!!) Then we felt bad and we headed home. It was all of 9pm. Brad had the little one asleep, and when we walked in the door, he was playing with the 2 year old with her little horses. The big girls were not too happy that we arrived home. (they were expecting a sleep over) Michelle & I were just amazed!!

So honey - Thank you, for being the best husband ever!!

Looking back...

Today, as I have my two little sickies recouperating, I decided to burn a bunch of pictures onto disk from my digital camera. What a good time to look back on the kids when they were little!! Here are a few of my favorites!!
The first one is of Ethan at our annual Food Allergy Support Group Easter Party. (Those plastic eggs are the only safe ones for him!!)
The next one is of Lauren while I was just goofing around with my new camera. (She makes it really easy to take good pictures!!)

Who doesn't love cookies??

Today, I want to tell you about a website that I stumbled upon. I was looking for a new cookie recipe and I always seem to google whatever cookie I am in the mood for. Today, I found a great website that has all kinds of cookies in the same place.

www.popularcookierecipes.com

They have lots of yummy recipes from basic chocolate chip (that's the one that I used) to mint chocolate chip, shortbread, gingerbread, oatmeal and sugar cookies.

Now, I never use recipes exactly like they are given, I have to substitute out the eggs, milk & nuts. Personally, I am always looking for new recipes that I can feed my whole family.

Sick Day

Today was a sick day at our house. Ethan got sick at about 2pm. Lauren came home from school complaining of a tummy ache. She got sick a short time later. Both were asleep before 7pm. Both were up by 9:30pm and both were really sick. We are thankful that Lauren is very tidy when she is sick. I will spare you the gory details. Be thankful there are no pictures.
See you tomorrow.

Crazy day!

Today was not supposed to be a work day for me, but I filled in for a co-worker. She is sooo nice & would have done the same thing for me. Her daughter was coming for a visit. However, I will never do it again!! Wednesday is apparently the busiest day at the Kids Kastle in the YMCA. Along with the exceptionally large number of kids, it seemed that all of the babies were either teething or poopy, the preschoolers were CRAZY, a worker forgot to come in to work, Ethan was crabby, toddlers were hitting & stealing toys... I can't tell you how happy I was to come home!! And I really like my job!! My good friend Michelle came in today & gave me a really cool neck shaped heat pack!! How perfect!! I was really looking forward to using it after a long day at the Kastle. I had it on no more than 10 minutes when the kids wanted in on the fun. Here is a picture of Lauren. She not only stole my new hot pack, but wanted me to make her a cup of tea. Who needed to relax?? I guess she needs her time too!!

Too Cute Tuesday

Welcome to "Too Cute Tuesday"!!

Cheese......

Need I say more??

Back to school

Today was the first day back to school after Christmas break. Lauren apparently wore herself out. This is what Lauren looked like about 10 minutes after I put her to bed. This morning, before school, Lauren told me "If I didn't have school today, I would love to settle in for a long winter's nap" How cute is she...

Friends

There is nothing better than having a great day with a friend. Except when your kids are friends too!! Today, the kids and I went up north to a friends house and spent the day, and had a great time!!

Lauren and Hannah are "best friends forever" and they spent the day playing dress up, Barbies and making necklaces for each other! They also got to exchange Christmas gifts!! Lauren got a cool little build a bear (that they will do next time that they get together). Hannah got the game "Kerplunk" which the girls (attempted) to play for a bit. They put on many "performances" ranging from music to dancing. They had such a fun day!!

Ethan & Sammie spent the day trying to fit in to the "Big Girls" play. There was a bit of confusion when they were not invited, but it was all good.

Michelle & I spent the day being lazy (which felt really good!!) Lounging on the couches covered in big fluffy blankets!! We both really needed it!!

This picture is of the girls this summer as they played together at a park in Baxter!

A little about us

Today, I would like to introduce my family to you. They are my everything!!

My wonderful husband Bradley. He is a Restaurant General Manager for Border Foods and the breadwinner for our family. He loves his family time, but also enjoys his league bowling nights out.

Our sweet little girl Lauren. She is in Kindergarten and she is loving it!! She loves to read, write, draw & color, anything crafty, she is all over it. She is a hard worker and is ahead of her class academically. Lauren is also a great swimmer and she is involved in Daisy Girl Scouts.

Our tough little guy Ethan. He takes the term "daddy's boy" to the next level. This is tough for me, but Brad eats it up. Ethan in a word is hilarious. He is always doing something that makes us laugh. He seems to think that he is his big Sissy's age, so he feels that nothing is off limits to him.

My first post of my first blog!!

Hello!! Welcome to my blog. I hope that I will be interesting enough so that you will decide to stop in once in a while!! I don't have a true focus for this blog yet, maybe I will soon, or maybe I never really will. For now, I will be taking it day by day. I really like photography, so I think that I will probably want to share my photos. Maybe I will have a cute picture of my kids. Maybe I will have a really cool tip that I will want to share with everyone. So, whatever I have to share, I will share it with you every single day (hence the name- Mindysue365).

Stay tuned...