A Month's Worth of Blogs Wrapped Into One

I've been terrible about blogging. Really, I know it. Lately, I've just been so busy doing stuff (and stuff that isn't even interesting, I'll have you know), and by the time I sit down at night I'm falling asleep on the couch. Ah, the first trimester tired stage. Anyway, I'm trying to make up for it tonight with a major blog about what's been going on, little things that I think are funny, and other random stuff.

*I grew everything in this picture but the onions in my garden. It was damn good.



*Gizmo sprouted another tooth this week - one of her front teeth! She no longer has a completely crooked smile. It looks like the other front tooth is not too far behind. I give the girl credit - she never really fusses when a tooth is coming in. What a pleasant little girl!

What is not pleasant? Her cold. Poor thing has had a runny nose (that I gave to her) for about a week. She's been a trooper, still playing and happy, and really sleeping well, but that poor nose just won't stop. Let's hope we can get rid of that soon!


*These are my friends Dorf and Cin - they are some of the best friends I made when working at MCHS, and have kept in touch throughout the years. Dorf got married last month, and Cin and I were there to celebrate his very big day. Why post this? Because this wedding was by far the sweetest one I have ever been to. It might even be better than Mitch's and my wedding. Dorf and his wife, Lisa, are in their mid-thirties, and had waited for a long time to find the right "one". They were so completely happy and in love, sincere and confident in their vows, and I weeped openly when they talked about how special each one was to the other during their reception speeches. The most beautiful wedding I have ever been to.



*Gizmo and I spent a couple of days at the park as we closed out summer. Mitch joined us one morning. We had a great time. Gizmo just loves to walk around the playground, swing, and eat rocks. I love to chase her, pick her up when she falls, and grab her hand every time she even thinks about sticking playground rocks in her mouth. What she doesn't love to do? Go down the slide. Not even with Daddy.








*Gizmo is my kid. She loves Dairy Queen ice cream. When she can't get the real thing (it's rare that she gets it), she loves to play with my pretend ice cream cones. Don't try to take it away from her though - she'll give you the stinkeye for sure.


*Fall is here! The weather has been so cool and beautiful at night. I'd love to sit outside if it weren't for so many damn mosquitoes. I'd also love to sit outside if I could enjoy a beautiful Oktoberfest, but alas, I can't. Therefore, I sit in the house and complain that I can't go outside. What I did do today, though, is get out my beloved Student Council sweatshirt.

Now, this thing is OLD. This sweatshirt is from the first or second year that I was teaching at MCHS. It's a gray hoodie sweatshirt with Gizmo (the actual character from Gremlins, not my cutie pie!) holding a bow and arrow and a MCHS bandana on his head. It is ridiculous, old, and falling apart. But I can't stop wearing it. I think if Mitch could throw one thing away in my wardrobe, this would be it. Fall is here when I break that thing out to wear in the mornings.

*Gizmo is a movin' and a' shakin' for sure! She loves to dance and hum the songs. Tonight she was even dancing with the TV remote control. Here's a few of her moves -

*Summer is ending.  Which means I go back to work on Tuesday.  Blah.  I've had a busy, but fun summer, and while I was nervous about being a stay-at-home mommy, I'm sad to leave Gizmo this week.  It will be a rough transition until next summer - or the next maternity leave, at least!

I'm Convinced We Need a Lake House

Gizmo lived up to her Minnesotan heritage when we visited our very first lake today.  My colleague and friend Jill and her family live on Lake Byllesby, and she invited us down to spend the afternoon relaxing.  And by invite, I mean I called her twice to invite ourselves.  

After slathering Gizmo in SPF 60 (it was a beautiful 85 degrees, sunny and breezy today), we waded into the lake.  At first, Gizmo was apprehensive, but as soon as she started kicking her feet, she took to it like, well, like a fish to water.

She had a great time floating and spashing, and chewing on my sunglasses.

Gizmo also discovered the fine baby art of eating the beach.  This particular beach is quite rocky, but it didn't stop her from trying to cram handfuls of it into her mouth.  

After eating her fill of rocks, we went on a boat ride along the lake.  Jill even had a life jacket to fit Gizmo - and she really liked it at first!

We started off pretty slow, but then cranked up the speed.  Gizmo liked to go fast, just like Ricky Bobby from Talladega Nights.

By the end of the ride, she was "resting her eyes" and was ready to get out of her straight jacket. 

 

If the lake, the beach, and the boat ride weren't enough for Gizmo, she was able to play with a doggie, too!  She really enjoyed playing with Malibu, who was sweet on her all afternoon.  

While Gizmo and I had a great time, I think it was Jill who had an equally wonderful time snuggling with a cute baby.  I have absolutely no idea how Jill gets anything done during the day, because I would be lounging by that lake from morning until night in the summer.  

Anyone want to go in halfsies on a lake house?

The Long-Awaited Baptism Post

Last weekend we filled our house with people, food, and laughter to celebrate Gizmo's baptism.  Or, as Aunt Katie sang in the song she wrote:

"Gizmo, Gizmo, you are baptized today,

Gizmo, Gizmo, you weren't a Christian, but now you are!"

Oh Katie, you are so poetic.  

Anyway, here are the formal family pictures at the church - (keep in mind they were kept short and sweet, as the Vikings game started at noon and church didn't get over with until after 12:00)

The big extended family -

Gizmo with her godmother, Tuba Lady - 

Sadly, her godfather, Dr. Martin, was unable to make it due to extreme fog, and his flight was canceled.  We certainly missed him!

Mitch, Tuba Lady, Gizmo, and I - 

It was a beautiful ceremony and Gizmo didn't cry until the cherub choir began to sing a song for her.  Of course, PD the pastor told us she was just singing.  That musical kid of ours.

Gizmo's baptism outfit was a mix of old and new.  Her gown was one that Mitch had worn, as well as Grandpa Sal, when they were baptized.  So neat!  She wore Aunt Winnie's christening sweater, a special bib made by Grama Poke, and a necklace from Grandma Jersey Girl.  She was absolutely adorable, and managed to not spit up on the entire thing until the moment that I was undressing her.  

While Gizmo spent much of the weekend tired (she's not one to take a nap anymore, and she really hates to miss anything when people are here), she did manage to look incredibly cute and adorable for pictures:

I also was not good with taking pictures all weekend, but I did capture a few with some of our guests (and Katie helped) -

Flying with Uncle Boston - 

Snuggling with Rachel - 

And meeting SouthCove for the first time - 

While Gizmo enjoyed playing with all her guests (thanks to everyone who came!), the most fun she had this weekend was when she was chewing on something.  She chewed on her caterpillar,

her teething ring,

her feet,

and her ring.

It was a really wonderful, but exhausting weekend.  Mitch and I are still recovering!

My Trip to Illinois

In no random order, I present visual evidence that I spent a week and a half visiting as many family and friends as I could.

The Mrs. and Katie threw me a beautiful baby shower.  Thanks so much ladies!  It was so nice to see so many friends and family at the shower, most of whom I rarely see now.  

The Mrs. brought Punkin and Shortcake out to the farm for an afternoon of swimming - Punkin sure enjoyed spitting the pool water on Pa Poke (she didn't get the idea by herself - Pa Poke may have started it.  He also made both girls cry in 25 minutes.  Way to go, Pa Poke.  Better practice up those grandparenting skills!)

Punkin and Shortcake in the pool - they had so much fun!

Cin and I at the Art Institute on our DAY OF FUN! - we checked out the new Modern Wing, which was really nice.  Although I have to admit, there was a lot of it I didn't "get".  I was happy to know that Cin, the art teacher, didn't get some of it, either.

 

Cin, #1 Rush Fan, and I at my favorite eating establishment in Morris, LaMex.  Man, I had been craving those flautas for months, and they didn't disappoint.  The company I was with didn't, either!  

Lar-Dog and Steph joined us at LaMex,

 - as did Artsy, PE, and Hanky.  Zanadoo was there, too - I'm not sure how she avoided my camera!  It was so nice to catch up with my former colleagues.  I really miss working with all of them!

In addition to these fun activities, I also had really nice visits with Grama and Grapa Poke and Grandpa Hougie, a day of shopping with Mom, a tutorial on miter saws from Dad (look for my latest home improvement project soon!), a visit from Auntie M, bonding time with Boston and Gus-Gus,  and a lot of lounging around the pool and relaxing.  I had a great time at home on the farm!

South Cove's Visit to the Northland

For an Illinoisan, there's nothing more fun than coming up to Minnesota in June to enjoy the beautiful summer weather that we have here.  Unfortunately for SouthCove, she came on a cold, rainy weekend where it didn't get above 55 degrees and I had to turn the heat on in the house.  Despite the crappy weather, we had a great time!!  Here's the run-down of the weekend:

Friday:  SouthCove arrives and we chat and eat grapes.  Into St. Paul for Cosetta's pizza, then to the Liffey for a drink.  (I substituted beer for chocolate cake.  Not a bad trade-off.)

Saturday:  After a sleepy morning, we went to the Mall of America, which was ridiculously crowded.  I haven't seen it that busy ever, not even during the holidays.  We walked all three levels, with SouthCove purchasing some spiffy new sunglasses and I purchasing a super-cute onesie on sale at Carters.  We also took a stroll through Nickelodeon Universe, where SouthCove really came alive - 

-she could not have been more excited to see the WonderPets - although she didn't want to wait in line -

-and I forced her to put on this silly Spongebob hat.  She looks good in it, doesn't she?

We had grand plans for going into Minneapolis that evening for dinner and general walking around, but by the time we made it through the mall my cankles weren't going to handle more walking, so we came home and had a lazy night, complete with Buffalo Wild Wings and the "Twilight" movie.  SouthCove had resisted the Twilight craze to this point, but after viewing Robert Pattinson's dreamy eyes, she has a new respect for tween books and movies.  I give the movie two enthusiastic thumbs up, if you can get through the first ten minutes of super-cheesiness.

Sunday:  After a breakfast of waffles and sausage and another lazy morning, we met up with Al and took a trip to the Cannon River Winery.  I had been there before, and the girls really enjoyed sampling the 10+ wines the winery has to offer. (Side note - it was not nearly as hard as I thought it was going to be to not sip wine with them.  Way to go me!)  After the purchase of some bottles, we headed home and went to Jake's for dinner.  Yummy!  Al went home, and we watched the Tony awards in our pjs and ate pistachio ice cream.  

While I was sad when SouthCove pulled out of the driveway, my heart warmed because she was going to have the most fun of all on the way home - stopping by the Leinenkugel's brewery to take the tour, sample the libations and buy her very own HoneyBear pitcher!  

Thanks for making the drive, SouthCove!  It was great to see you, and I look forward to seeing you in a couple of weeks!

More Babies!

Congrats to Colleen, Mitch's cousin, and her husband Eddie! They have a brand new baby boy, Evan, and both mom and baby are doing well. This is their first, and I'm sure they are beyond excited.

Evan

Tonight we also found out that our good friends Ron and Nicole also had their second, Ronnie Jr., early this evening, and everyone there is great, too! Ronnie was 6 lbs 15 oz, and was 20 1/2 inches long.

Ronnie Jr. Jr. and mom!

We couldn't be happier for everyone!

Our April Guests

Chateau Tina & Mitch has been hopping with visitors this month, and it's been great to see friends and family.  

First up:  Tuba Lady and Rachel, who were here at the beginning of the month during spring break.  It was such a great trip, because we really just relaxed and ate (and ate, and ate), but we did venture out a few times, once to go to THE Mall.  Tuba Lady was so excited to see LegoLand.

Rachel was even more excited to pose next to this Star Wars guy - and yes, she's grabbing his butt.

Here are both of them enjoying a meal at the restaurant that it seems we always go to when we're together - Buffalo Wild Wings.  

And as a housewarming/baby gift, the two of them were kind enough to give us a Diaper Genie - hell yeah!

Mitch was so proud once he got it all put together.

Later in the month, we were visited by Katie and Boston for a long weekend.  We did lots of tourist-y stuff so they could check out the Twin Cities (and so we could convince them to move up here).  Here they are at the rooftop bar at the Liffey in Saint Paul.

We were fortunate to have Twins tickets for Saturday night, and before that we had explored Minneapolis, including Brit's Pub, where Boston got his drink on.  Ah, I love Drunk Boston - he's so much fun!

And the two of them at the game.  So cute!

Good times.  May and June are open, people, so get your reservations in soon!