Sophie Turned Two?

Sophie turned two literally almost a YEAR ago! But I never posted pictures and now that I’m starting to think about thinking about planning her three year bash I figured, what the heck, throw a little picture dump in there. So here it goes, Sophie’s second birthday everyone!

What birthday isn’t complete with some kiddo goody bags for all of Sophie’s little friends? I found a couple of fun items in the dollar section of Target (bubbles included) and stuffed them into plain brown paper gift bags. I wrote the two’s on there with a permanent marker to make them a little less… well, plain.

Nothing screams ”spring” like tulips! These guys were only $2.99 and were just begging to be put in a vase for the Princess of Pink (read: Sophie). Looking at them now, with snow outside my window, I can hardly wait for sunshine, flowers and finally running outside again. Ooo the anticipation!

We scored a great deal on Living Social for some macaroons from a local shop and splurged (and also saved a ton) by buying a bunch of the deals and basically got double for our money. I love saving. By the time I got this shot, they were pretty picked over, but all flavors were delicious as well as super colorful, so I would say it was a big win. Remember how warm it was last May? Cross your fingers it is again so we can have another outdoor birthday party!

She’s so bitty in this picture! She loved that she got to wear a pin the whole day. She also loved that the pin was pink.

We had the birthday at Minnehaha Falls so there was a lot of exploring involved that day. Along with all the playgrounds, Sophie got to play in the water while waiting for people to arrive.

Babysister was also really happy to be there! So. BITTY!

Food! (mostly eaten)

She loved every minute of all the attention. She got some really wonderful gifts from friends and family that we are still using now, almost a year later! Here’s to hoping that this birthday number three will be as wonderful as birthday number two!

Cheers!

Smell That?

It smells like homemade bread! Some pretty rockin’ Honey Whole Wheat bread. But don’t take my word for it… ask Charlotte.

She was pretty excited about it. But first, let’s talk about the disaster that was my first attempt…

The thing is, depending on the recipe, there is a difference between bread recipes made from a pan and oven v. bread maker and an even bigger difference between regular flour, and bread flour. Just in case any of you follow in my footsteps and try this yourself, make sure you’re looking at the right recipe because if you don’t, you may end up with a less-than-appetizing looking lump of crusty flour (as I did with attempt one). Make sure you read your bread maker’s instruction manual all about how to operate and layer ingredients in your bread maker. I went for the guess and hope you’re right attempt the first time and no good.

My inspiration for making my own bread was actually when I looked the ingredient list on the back of our bread package… have you ever seen it? Or are you like me, you just assumed bread was bread? After I looked at ours, I also looked at some other brands and found the same thing, the ingredient list was fourteen (if we were lucky) to twenty-five ingredients long!

So I hopped on the “I’m tired of all those pesky preservatives” train and asked my mom if I could borrow her bread maker. It’s an older version of this guy. I figured, it couldn’t be that difficult. The truth is, it’s not that difficult if you do it right. If you don’t do it right, it’s actually a really frustrating experience. The bread sits in the maker for over three hours, you feel like at the end of it you’re going to have this delicious loaf of wholesome awesomeness… and then you get a blob. Le sigh.

So after 1, reading the manual and 2, finding a recipe that was for the bread maker, we had a genuine loaf of whole-food yumminess! Kid approved and everything!

I would show you a picture of Sophie eating it, but she was sleeping through the whole taste test. For those wondering how to make their own, I would look through your bread maker instruction manual and try the recipes they give you, that’s what I did and it worked great!

What about you guys? Made any homemade bread lately? Homemade anything (cookies count!)? Worried about all the preservatives in your food? How are you guys modifying your diet to cut out some of the preservatives?

Psst- there is a great website all about trying a whole-foods diet (not the store but actual whole foods) complete with fun recipes and a meal plan guide. Visit it here.

The Girls’ Bedroom: Updated

When we moved in, I did a quick post taking you through our apartment. Lots of things have changed since when we first moved in, but one of the biggest changes has been in the girls’ room! There were several reasons for changing things, but one of the biggest reasons is that ever since we moved in… Sophie has been sleeping in our bed.

It’s true. It took her over two hours to fall asleep in her bed. Whether for naps or bedtime, it took F.O.R.E.V.E.R. (said in true Sandlot style). And we probably could have been more firm about the whole thing and insisted that she sleep in her bed, but we weren’t so we basically had Charlotte in her own room, and Sophie was sharing a bedroom with us. Let’s just say it was not working out.

So, we decided that perhaps if we got her into a real “big girl” bed, that she would finally have a reason to love sleeping in her own room. The most important decision became, do we get her a simple single bed and then get Charlotte a matching one when she was ready or do we get her a bunk bed and have Charlotte take the second bunk when she’s ready.

We talked extensively about both options, each having their own pros and cons, but ultimately decided that we wanted the floor space that bunk beds offered. Plus, when we went to look at beds, Sophie loved (read: obsessed) laying in the top bunk of all the beds, and was less than enthused about the single twins. So, we went for the bunks.

So we hit up Sir Craig and his freaking amazing list and found a bunk bed set in our budget ($80). We could have gone for something new, but decided that $80 versus around$150 and higher was the better option for us. Especially after seeing the beds in person, they’re a super sturdy solid wood, we didn’t feel like we were getting something unsafe or anything. Sold.

In the end we ended up spending less than $250 on the whole set-up (though we still have to buy duvet covers for the blankets) including bed, two extra pillows (we already had two on hand from Sophie’s toddler bed), bed sheets, duvet comforters for both beds, pillowcase sheets for the two extra pillows, mattresses and mattress protectors. Not too shabby.

So without further ado, the new and improved girls’ room!

Pretty sure my camera lens needs to be cleaned… embarrassing.

Anywho… so when we got the new bed, we asked what kind of bed Sophie wanted. You know what her answer was?

“I need a princess bed!”

“A princess bed?” responded me, “Why a princess bed?”

“Because I’m really like a princess.”

Yep, so the hunt for princess sheets was on. Except, and all you big Disney fans will have to excuse me, I didn’t want a bedroom-turned-shrine containing all things Disney princess-y. It’s kind of like how I have this thing against clothing with the Winnie-the-Pooh characters, I also apparently have a thing against Disney princess paraphernalia. Makes no sense, I know, but it’s the way I roll.

Update: Just so you know, I have nothing against Disney princesses and little girls loving them. We have our fair share of Disney princess movies, Sophie’s favorite book right now is Beauty and the Beast and is often caught singing a medley of Tangled songs in the grocery store, I just didn’t want to turn the room into a tribute to them.

So instead, we compromised. Sophie got her lovely princess sheets, and I got to cover them with a white comforter so they weren’t overwhelming. Everyone wins!

And yes… my daughter’s other favorite book is the National Geographic Dinosaur book. We keep it diverse here in the Bean household.

On the edge of the bed are some cheap-o hooks from Ikea to hang the girls’ jackets and hats. Things I’m too lazy to hang up on a hanger and it also makes them easier for the girls to grab them when we are about to run out the door.

For those who are wondering what they’re attached with, it’s actually 3M strips… although I’m not convinced they’re going to make it for the long haul (baby coats may be small, but they’re still heavy) so we’re eventually going to drill them in.

On Charlotte’s side, not much has changed other than that she’s now on the wall that sits opposite Sophie. Having the crib on that wall opened up the room from the hall and also makes it look bigger when you’re inside. We like it.

Another big change, is the dresser. I’ve posted twice now about how I bought the dresser off of Craigslist and then painted it, but then it turned yellow, so I painted it again. Guess what? It turned yellow again!

So after uttering all manner of swear words, and feeling slightly better, I sanded the sucker down again, put more stain blocker and painted the whole thing white and then skipped the poly top coat. The result? It’s been three weeks and no yellow. So happy.

Artwork! A clean dresser top! No yellow! I could just kiss myself with joy!

Awkward.

Honestly though, I love the way this turned out. I’m hoping to add some shelves on the right side next to the hanging pictures but one step at a time. This was a big overhaul, the shelves are number #245 on my list. I’m on item #53, we’re getting there. You also get to see the calendar Sophie and I use everyday to teach her about things like the month of the year, the day of the month and other great lessons that make me feel like a productive mother. Yeah calendar!

In the middle of the room is the girls’ little table where they like to draw, play with their doll house and slide the chairs out and push them around the room (that last one is only something Charlotte finds entertaining).

Voila! Girls’ room is now about 75% of the way finished. But who knows, maybe we’ll decide we want all lime green furniture and I’ll have to start painting furniture all over again. Good thing I’ve got a plethora of sandpaper just waiting to be used!

What about you guys? Any rooms asking for a facelift? Cold weather driving you inside and you’re realizing some furniture needs a little re-arranging to help fit everyone during the hibernation months? Painted any furniture white recently and then pulled all your hair out because it started turning yellow (for the second time)? Okay, that last one was me…

A Year in the Life Of… Miss Charlotte

My little baby is all big and grown up (sort of)! Except she barely tips the scale at 25 pounds soaking wet so perhaps “all grown up” isn’t the correct terminology. The point is, she’s one year old with many more in front of her so it’s time to celebrate!

But to fully appreciate the ending, let’s take a trip to the beginning… shall we? I feel like most of the first three months of Charlotte were spent in a coma for me. Sleeping = non-existent for me and Tim the first three months. I suppose after all the bragging I did on how well Sophie slept, I deserved it… but gee wiz… that girl DID NOT SLEEP!

But she was so cute, we decided to keep her anyway. She was born at 1:00pm, October 6th weighing in at a whopping 8 lbs 2 ounces, which is great because when we checked in the nurse looked at me and went, “Whoa, it’s going to be a big one!” Thank you medical professional, because I wasn’t feeling large enough. Whatever, I’ve made my peace.

One month and no later sleep later, our little dumpling was almost walking! Not really, but it’s so funny to see how fast they grow! Charlotte was jaundice when she was born, at our one month appointment I can report she was all de-oranged and we were so thrilled. She and I have opposite blood types which is apparently a recipe for trouble so it was a huge relief when we were told she was a perfectly healthy baby.

This picture bothers me. For some reason, with the two month photo I only took four. Yep, four options to choose from, all of which had bad lighting. So when they all got edited they were all weird and bright. Oh well, sometimes in life when you’re not a naturally good photographer monthly photos look funny (she’s still cute though).

At three months, Charlotte was having a drool-fest trying to get in her first baby tooth. She didn’t get her first teeth in until she was six months old, but the drooling and crankiness started at three months. It was sort of on and off crankiness, lots of ear pulling (Sophie did that too when she was teething). She started all out giggling at the same too though, what’s a little crankiness when you’ve got gummy smiles and laughs too?

Hehe she is such a little monster. I would like to say that she was sleeping better by this time, but no… no she wasn’t. Good thing she’s so darn cute! She did, however, start eating oatmeal. So that was a pretty awesome new step. I was able to ease up on breastfeeding a little with the introduction of “solids”. Win for me!  She looks so stoic in this picture, I love it.

Anyone else notice this is the first picture where both her fists aren’t clenched? At five months Charlotte started rolling over. The odd thing? She rolled from back to front first. I’m told in mommy-circles that it’s easier for them to do front to back first? Little over achiever!

At six months, Charlotte finally got her two bottom teeth. This is a great picture of her showing those little guys she worked so hard on off. It also felt like six months was a turning point for us. Charlotte started to sleep through the night. She would go to bed at eight and not wake up until around four or five, and then, once fed, would go back to sleep. Compared to the four to five wake-ups previous to this point, waking up once was like a dream-come-true for us! She also started crawling at six months and we started giving her actual solid food at this point. Lots of milestones for our little scrumptious one!

Anyone know which milestone she conquered this month? Waving goodbye. Oh… and sitting up too. This is also the embarrassing photo that I circled the wrong date on. Sometimes in life, you just do really dumb things. And sometimes… it’s caught on camera.

Look at those baby thighs! She used them to start the walking process this month (although she didn’t actually start walking until eleven months). She loved to stand up in the middle of a room and just sort of bounce. Talk about a workout. She had four teeth at this point and girggled up a storm. Her personality was really starting to come through this month too. For instance, we discovered she loved stuffed animals, and thought taking the caps off of markers was a hoot.

Nine months old! Is it wrong that at this point one of my greatest triumphs was not being pregnant again? Since I got pregnant with Charlotte a short seven months after I had Sophie, I’ve sort of been doing little victory dances for every month I go without getting pregnant. We would love more children, just not yet.

Ten months old! This is probably one of my favorite photographs because she’s “blurbbling”. Yes, that’s the word I’m using. She’s done this since she was around three months old… purses her lips and blows… it’s the Charlotte blurbble. Because her sister walked at ten months, we were sort of expecting her to do it too, but no dice. She did, however, get two molars in.

How big is Charlotte? So big! And eleven months old! Little squeaky finally started walking at eleven months. Just from one person to the next but it was something! Her and Sophie really started being able to play together too, which has been a really exciting change.

Ta da! Birthday girl! All grown up (sort of)! In Sophie’s one year picture for her birthday party invite she’s in a tutu, so we decided to get Charlotte in the tutu as well. She’s such a doll. Seriously, she’s been the most chill baby (except for her sleeping issue which I’m happy to say is now over… she sleeps from eight to eight every night!) and always in such a good mood! She’s now sporting ten teeth, is trying so hard to walk like her big sister and loves (loves) all stuffed animals.

We had a great birthday weekend and we’re so excited for all the years to come!

Thanks to all for your love and well wishes!

Cheers!

Jen

It’s the Little Things in Life…

I have never noticed this before! Look at what’s on the bottom of a Forever 21 bag:

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” – John 3:16

Our Humble Abode – Quick Shots

We’re still in the process of getting internet at our place, but I was able to steal away to a coffee shop again and give you a little update. First and foremost, we love it. Love. It. Like, get-giddy-to-come-back-home like it. It’s beautiful, we fit better in it, and it is close to everything we love. I feel incredibly blessed to be here. When we found out that we had gotten the apartment (three people applied the same day it was listed, including us) I cried. Yep, straight up cried. After the last apartment, I couldn’t believe we would finally be somewhere as awesome as this. As much as I hyped up the last place, there were A LOT of problems with it. We dealt with them because the rent was good, but ultimately we knew that we couldn’t live there for any longer. So, compared to that place… we feel like we are living in a palace.

Sophie bomb!

Introducing our living room! Admire the shiny floors, the amazing windows, and of course, the ridiculously cute child in the foreground! Another thing that you realize unless you’ve visited our place, the windows actually work! The last place had gaps in the windows, most didn’t open, and the ones that did normally didn’t have any screens on them. We had two working, screened windows in the old place. Two. This place has a full set of gorgeous, working windows. We’ve been enjoying nice fall breezes for days now. Sigh. Here’s what it looks like right now:

I took these pictures early in the morning, so it looks kind of dark, but trust me when I say it’s normally very bright and happy in here. The best part is in the right-hand corner of the room.

Can I get an “awww”! This puppy was only $7 at a sidewalk sale a couple of months ago. I had been searching for a rocking chair for the girls for months and we were on our way to lunch for Tim’s birthday when I saw it as we passed on the road and I literally yelled, “Oh my gosh! A rocking chair! STOP!”, kicked my cousin out of the car and told her if it was under $15 I wanted it. She came back with the good news of its 7 bean price tag and SOLD. We threw it in the trunk and brought it home (it also may or may not have fallen out of the half-open trunk on our way home, but SURVIVED… this guy is in it for the long haul) and then continued on to Tim’s lunch like nothing out of the ordinary had just happened. I’m contemplating whether or not to paint it some bright color like yellow or turquoise or just leave it nice and birchy. Decisions, decisions.

On the other side of the living room we’ve set up Sophie and Charlotte’s space. Most of their toys live happily in their bedroom, but some had to come out since we spend most of our time in the living room.

I’ll talk a little bit more about this area in a different post. But for now, this area works great as a place for the girls to play and sprawl out. The shelves make cleaning a quick pick-up job too and since everything is low to the ground, they’re able to reach everything they want to play with, which makes it much easier for me because I’m not having to get everything out for them. It’s also much easier for them to assist in picking up.

The dining room is very similar to the old one (except that the windows work and there is no buffet) but it somehow feels more open. Probably because of all the natural light we get in.

Quick! Don’t be distracted by the kitchen in the background! Focus!

Ooops, how did Charlotte get in there? Actually, she was the reason I was up at 6:30 in the morning that day. Dining room is definitely a work in progress, but I’m just happy that our piano, and dining room fit so comfortably in there. We can expand it with one leaf and still leave it facing the way it is, or we can put in both leaves and turn the table so it’s coming through the archway. Gotta love options. Not sure I’m sold with the placement of the bookcase but for right now the dining room is rocking it and we’re letting it.

Now we can go into my favorite room just because it’s such a change from what we had, the kitchen. The amount of counter space was drool-inducing when toured. It was the first room we saw, and I think I was ready to write the check as soon as I saw it.

Ha what? There’s a dishwasher? What? There’s a garbage disposal? Oh my goodness, are those stainless steel appliances? And wait, granite countertops? Holy cow, don’t worry, you had me at “dishwasher”. Except really, he had me at “dishwasher”. Everything else is like icing on the cake.

Okay, so perhaps the after pics aren’t that impressive. Don’t mind the piles of bins that still need to be stored/brought back to their original owners. The silverware is out on the counter because we don’t have a holder that’s small enough for the silverware drawer and we’re hunting on craigslist right now for stools to sit at the bar. But even with all the chaos of moving, it’s still a hundred times better than the dark dungeon of a kitchen we had previously. I. Just. Love. This. Apartment.

The bathroom is really nice because we don’t have to side-step around the toilet to shut the door. Also, all the grout on the tub isn’t coming off and the tile floors look like they’ve been maintained and cleaned on a regular basis. Win!

Ooo cleeeeeeeean. We’re hoping to actually hang a legitimate shower curtain and get a caddy in the shower for all the shampoo and stuff stored on the toilet. Then we can simply close the curtain and all you’ll see is a clean, happy bathroom. It would also be superb to find a better way of storing the girls’ bath time accessories. Perhaps this guy? I do love a good frog bath toy holder.

The girls’ room was first priority when we moved. I wanted to make sure they would be comfortable in their new room from the get-go. I didn’t want them to be drowning in boxes. We actually ended up giving them the bigger room. Partially because their room has an air conditioner so we could control the climate when it gets nasty-hot in the summer, partially because there is more room for the bounty of toys, games and clothes they seem to accumulate, but also because the closet is really long, and there is a cute little shelf and cubby-nook at the end of it, making a perfect little reading area for Sophie, and someday Charlotte.

Not bad for having just moved in, huh? This room was set-up and ready to go almost as soon as all the boxes were moved in. It took us two days to do everything, but the girls’ room has looked basically the same since day one.

This side of the room is fairly unfortunate, but it can’t be all done perfectly. They’ve got so much more space now, though that even large messes seem like small ones. It’s great. Plus, once there are a couple of photos on the wall…

Yep, I’m a rock star artist. Anyway, imagine a little art, a cleaned off dresser and we’re golden. Remember that post way back when and I said I was going to clean the girls’ room? Consider it cleaned! Moving is so multitasking!

The master bedroom is a completely different story of course. We spent little to no time getting it ready. So it kind of looks like it got attacked by a monster that leaves clothes and donate-able items in its wake. Not sure if that kind of monster has a name…

Speaking of piles of stuff… they’re everywhere! We’re working on it, one day at a time. We’ve got a lot of changes happening and I’ll make sure we keep you up to date as they happen. But for now, we’re excited to be moved in and getting settled.

Charlotte: 10 Months Old

So while all of you are waiting for a moving update (we’re moved!) I’m sitting here at my favorite coffee shop hoping the girls stay entertained long enough to write this sentence. Phew. Still entertained.

I’m pretty sure they won’t sit through the moving post though, so until internet is restored at our (NEW) place, here’s a past due Charlotte update… she turned ten months (last month).

Jeez do I fail. Oh well. She’s still cute. Observe:

Told you so. Stay tuned for our moving pictures!

Moving!!!

Yep, we’re moving again!

Let’s just say the apartment we signed up for wasn’t all that we had hoped (leaking windows???) and so we fast decided that it was time to move into something a little more kid friendly (something that maybe has working doors). So come labor day weekend, we’re M.O.V.I.N.G. Stay tuned!

Two Year Anniversary: A History of the Olson Clan

Tim and I are celebrating our two year anniversary this week! Check out our wedding post here.

We’re keeping it pretty low key this year – we’ll be doing a trip a little later on – but we’re very excited to be celebrating two years since we tied the knot. Here we are back in 2009 all young and cutsie at the Glensheen Mansion in Duluth. Aww so young, so unaware of all things family-oriented.

We always laugh because when people ask us how we met, we aren’t really sure what to tell them. Recently, we’ve taken to making up stories about trips to Hawaii or the Amazon and meeting each other in exotic places. The truth is, Tim and I were bumping into each other years before we even considered dating to be a good idea. Eventually though, one day, the stars seemed to align because from then on, we just knew we were meant to be together. Sometimes I wish I had a story of the kind of love-at-first-sight that Nicholas Sparks writes about, but honestly, our getting to the altar was a much more casual process. If you ever ask me though, I’ll still tell you that we met while skydiving. Just giving you the heads up!

Like a lot of people, our plan was to get married, wait a year or two, and then start thinking about starting a family. We both knew that we wanted to be young parents, but we also wanted to be a little selfish and enjoy some time together, just the two of us. Obviously, God had other plans for our family.

In September, right around my birthday (I’m turning 26 this year!! Anybody else feel old??), a few months after we got engaged, we found out that I was pregnant. To say that we were shocked is the understatement of a lifetime. Tim was really excited from the get-go, me on the other hand (partially because of pregnancy hormones, and partially because having a child simply scared me to pieces), I wasn’t too sure about it. Actually, I spent most of the next week crying about how mad everyone was going to be, or how lame I was because I couldn’t stay awake past 7:30 pm. Seriously. And although I do blame most of that behaviour on hormone imbalance, the truth is that having a baby at 23 was not my big dream.

Luckily for me, once the week of being ridiculously emotional was over, I finally just got over it and decided that the only thing to do was let myself get excited about parenthood. Because who wouldn’t be excited to have the children of this:

No one. Be jealous ladies, be jealous! Despite all the fears of judgement or disapproval, I was going to have a baby!

The first person I told? My mom.

She was thrilled to be a grandma. After almost a week of feeling like everyone was going to turn against me, her support and excitement made me realize that having a baby was not the great catastrophe I was concerned it would be. She started talking about family vacations, Christmas’ with Santa Claus, and I knew that I could finally allow myself to be happy about it.

And although not everyone was immediately supportive like my mother, most people were and the positive reactions far outweighed the negative reactions, no matter where or who they came from.

On May 12th, 2010, we welcomed our little Bean into the world and became parents!

She’s taught us to laugh harder, love deeper, and live better. Becoming a parent is one of the most amazing, challenging, frustrating, humbling experiences for any human being. This little person has brought so much joy to Tim and my life, we can’t even imagine what our lives would be like without her (we would probably get more sleep but what’s sleep when you’ve got someone who will yell out, “I’ve got a poopy! A big, big poopy!” in the middle of prayer at church… that’s what I want to know).

Photo by J. Klein Photography

All the negativity, the hurt, the uncertainty just melted away. Sophie has been a wonderful gift in my life and has taught me things I never knew about myself. Tim and I have become a stronger team as we learn each others strengths and weaknesses in parenting. We’ve learned how we need to support each other better and work together to reach our goals more effectively because we have consciously made the decision to be good role models to our daughters.

Three months after Sophie was born, Tim and I finally tied the knot, seven months after we had originally planned to get married before we found out we were pregnant.

It was a beautiful ceremony! We had all our friends surrounding us, the food was delicious (always important) and it was everything we had hoped for. I still love looking back on the pictures and laughing about what we were doing and when (one of my bridesmaids almost got arrested on the way to the ceremony), thinking about all the people who came in from out-of-town (Tim’s parent’s friends from Spain were able to come) to support us and what it meant for us to finally be married. I was able to vow forever to my best friend and biggest advocate.

A couple of months later, we found out we were pregnant again (panic!) and almost fainted. We welcome little Charlotte in October, and what a ride it’s been!

After two years of marriage, three – almost four years of being together we’ve gone through family turmoil, job transitions, two children, the natural highs and lows of marriage and relationships, moving and all manner of daily trials and we’re happy to say that after two years, we’re reading for the next sixty. After that, who knows?

So raise glass babe!

Here’s to us, honey! Here’s to many more days together. Here’s to all the adventures we’ve had, and the many more we have yet to have! We’re only two years in, imagine what we’ll have to talk about when we’ve reached ten years! Twenty years!

Here’s to all the money we’ll spend on ketchup, to feed your ridiculous addiction.

Here’s to all the time I’ll spend on sewing projects that you’ll allow me to spread all over the kitchen table.

Here’s to the bottles of wine, the cans of beer and the occasional glass of whiskey we’ll share while trying to figure out how the heck we’re going to get through the next phase of teething, illness, no sleep and growth spurts.

Here’s to your level-headedness. Here’s to my playfulness.

Here’s to your inability to by anywhere on time. H ere’s to my inability to drive somewhere new without getting lost!

Here’s to us! Here’s to our love! Here’s to our future! Here’s two two years in, and still so very much in love with you!

Gone Crafting

In true Minnesotan fashion, I say “Ooftah”.  We have officially completed our very first craft show! The first EVER summer No Coast Craft-O-Rama was a hit! And best of all, it was an amazing first show for me.  It was a lot of sleepless nights, a lot of “Are the other crafters going to know that this is my first show?” and finally, some, “Whelp, this is as good as it’s going to get.” And in the end? It was a wonderful experience!

There were so many wonderful vendors there. I was so intimidated by everything, at first. When we were unloading there were many other vendors unloading amazing display props. As I was unpacking my laundry basket full of stuff, I couldn’t help but feel like I was a little out of my league.

But everyone was so wonderful! I met many of the other people selling goods at show and they were all fabulous! The talent and creativity that some people possess is completely beyond me. For all of you who came out for it, I hope you really enjoyed yourselves and made sure to purchase a ginger lemonade (!!!) because it really helped fight the heat.

Speaking of heat, it was a-blazing! I think the last time I was that soaked I was swimming in a pool, except that was water, this time is was my own sweat. Too much information? But it was true. I am partially to blame, I decided that it was a really good idea to wear jeans that day. FYI, not a good idea. Nobody should suffer for fashion in Minnesota heat and humidity. Besides all the vendors that were selling their items, there was also live music, delicious food and fun activities for the kids. Sophie and Charlotte hung out for most of the morning and there was plenty for them to do!

All-in-all it was a fantastic experience. And after having convince myself that nobody was going to buy anything, it was great to get my first sale within five minutes of the fair’s opening! Talk about a sigh of relief, and we had good traffic flow throughout the entire rest of the fair. By the end of the day I was loading a much lighter laundry basket back into my car. It was very exciting. I had wonderful helpers there with me. My mother, sister, cousin and aunt were all there for the whole day and my husband and daughters hung around for as long as they could until it was very evident that naps were needed.

So thanks again to everyone! I appreciate all the love and support you’ve showered on me. This has been a dream of mine for a while and I was just giddy with excitement to see it come through. And for those of you wondering if I will be doing another fair anytime soon, here’s your answer… first I am going to catch up on some sleep, and then I’ll think about it. But I definitely hope so! Cheers friends!