Love This!!

Hmmmm....

With Thanksgiving approaching I have been thinking a lot about food. If you know me and my husband you know, we LOVE food. And I wonder? What's your favorite Thanksgiving recipe?

Luca David

Oh my sweet sweet Luca. You are the most amazing surprise I have ever gotten in my life.

You are such a fun and loving little boy.
You melt your Momma's heart.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY MUNCHKIN!!!


We sure do love you!!!!

Friday Favorites

Mrs Meyers Orange Clove Hand Soap

I love it when the Mrs. Meyers holiday scents come out!! One of the new scents this season is Orange Clove. YUMMMMMM. I love it. It is so warm and my kids are excited to wash their hands because it smells so good.



Mrs Meyers Iowa Pine Candle

Another holiday scent by Mrs Meyers, I was so glad that they brought back Iowa Pine. It was lasts years scent and it's sooo sooo good. This candle makes my home smell warm and wintery... yes wintery.

Pomegranate Seeds

I love pomegranate seeds but it is always a pain to get the seeds out. I find myself not wanting to buy pomegranates because it's such a pain. WELL... Costco sells them in packs, ready to eat. Oh my goodness, I'm addicted. They are my new favorite snack. If you have a Costco membership, get over there and buy some. They are a really healthy, tasty snack and are great in salads too.

Margaret Soother Tea - Tea Source

Tea is a must for me in when the weather gets cold. I love starting my day with coffee and ending it with tea. My favorite, and a staple in my house, is Margaret's Soother from the Tea Source. It is amazing. It is a blend of mints with a hint of licorice root. This tea is a MUST TRY. You will be addicted. Sitting down with a cup of Margaret's Soother is the perfect way to end the day.

FAIL!

Remember that one time when I started a blog and was doing fairly well keeping up with it? Then summer happened and then fall happened.....FAIL. I think about my blog but then never find the time to sit down and type anything. I won't complain, I won't apologize. I think I'll just blog instead.

My husband asked me the other day when I was going to blog again. He said he missed reading my blog. Ah.... so sweet. I didn't realize that he read it. If for nothing else, I'll try to do better for his reading pleasure.

So what's been going on?? Summer seemed crazy. Soccer, T-ball, childcare, a busy traveling husband, weddings, weekends on 2nd street, spending time up north, the wiffle ball tournament, a new niece, my first nephew, a new sister-in-law and oh yeah, a baby crawling all over. Did I mention how much fun it has been having a baby in the house again. We are all loving it!! His brother's are crazy about him and Tyler and I are just in awe of how much joy this little boy has brought into our family. I can't believe he'll be one in a week and a half. Really? My baby is getting older. It feels like I blinked and the summer was over.

Now it's summer and we have had the most amazing weather. It is now November and the weather is still in the 50's fairly consistently. UNBELIEVABLE. I am embracing every moment outside that I can because I know the winter is coming.

Here's to blogging more consistently!

I'm Still Here

I have been terrible about blogging the past few weeks. I have been SUPER busy getting ready for the Yinghua Art Fair . I promise I'll get back in the swing of blogging once the sewing subsides. Until then, I hope to see you at the art fair!!!!!

Friday Favorites

My sweet friend Ruthie Sayles has been on my mind and heart as of late so I thought it fitting that these are my friday favorites this week.

Ruthie has recently started making hairclips and they are selling like crazy. Check out her website, ruthiesayles.com.

God is Good

As many of you know our dear friend Ruthie Sayles, from Nashville, had very major surgery at Mayo on Tuesday.

RUTHIE'S STORY

On Nov 2 1996 (her daddy's birthday), when she was 17, Ruthie was in a terrible car accident where she pulled out in front of an ambulance. It hit her on her car door going 65mph. Her spleen ruptured, she broke several ribs, her lungs collapsed, and she broke the top 2 vertebrae of her neck (c1 and c2). The ambulance driver saved Ruthie's life. Once she was in the hospital and was off of life support and stable, they took a bone from her hip to fuse to her neck. Back then they used wires in the fusions and now they use titanium screws because the wires have been known to break, and that's what happened in her case.

The wire broke and is piercing Ruthie's spinal cord at c1 which is next to the brain stem. She found out the wire had broken last March 09. She had been dealing with chronic neck and back pain for several years before that. She found out then that if she doesn't have the wire removed, that eventually paralysis will begin in her body. It is a very serious surgery that has never been done before. None of the doctors have ever seen a wire piercing into a spinal cord much less in C1. It's all been so scary! The surgery is very risky and there is a chance that removing the wire will cause paralysis to set in. Sadly, right after she found all of this out, her daddy had a horrible fall while visiting his amish friends and died of brain damage.

After consulting with lots of different doctors Ruthie found 2 surgeons at the Mayo clinic that are going to do the surgery together.

Tyler and I were able to be with her husband and family at the hospital while she was in surgery for nearly 7 hours. We were so encouraged each time the surgery update was good. And when the surgeon called to tell Ruthie's husband that the surgery was finished and it went PERFECTLY, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. There are so many people who have been and are praying for Ruthie. I want to thank all of you who have lifted her up in prayer. I really think that God is working miracles in her body. I am praying that she heals quickly and that the pain she lived with for so many years would be lessened or perhaps even gone. God is so good.

If you feel so led, here are some things you can do if you feel like showing love to our sweet friend Ruthie:

* Follow her blog at http://www.ruthiesayles.blogspot.com and leave comments.

* Bring Ruthie and Will a meal while she is recovering. To sign up for a meal contact Lauren Hitch at laurenhitch@gmail.com. (IF YOU LIVE IN NASHVILLE)

* Ruthie's surgery will cost somewhere between 120-150 thousand dollars and because her insurance is calling this a pre-existing condition they aren't going to cover the surgery, medications, drs visits, etc. So if you feel like giving, you can go to http://www.bsf.net and click the link to the 'Ruthie Lindsey Sayle Medical Fund' on the bottom left side of the page.

Most of all, you can pray everyday for beautiful Ruthie!

Thank you to all of you who have been praying. It is so amazing to know that in addition to all of us who know and love Ruthie praying for her, there are people who don't even know Ruthie who care enough to lift her up in prayer. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Eggs, Eggs, Eggs

Today we had our little neighborhood cookie decorating and Easter egg hunt. There were only a few kids but that didn't stop the fun.

Östen has been hauling things around in his little tractor bike all week. I thought is was super cute watching him haul his Easter basket and eggs home in it.

We Got A Special Delivery Today

Today our neighbor Aidan pulled up with his red wagon and gave us four DELICIOUS cupcakes and some super cool pirate gear! It was his 6th birthday and he wanted to share birthday treats with his neighbor friends.

Happy Birthday Aidan!!

We're so glad Søren and Östen have a great friend like you! Hope you had a super fun day!!

Early Blooms

Last Spring/Summer I didn't get to tend to my gardens as I would've liked to. I was pregnant and my body not only had limitations, it wore out so much quicker. It was hard at times to see things in my gardens that I wanted to do, but I knew I needed to limit myself.

Well, I'm not pregnant anymore and the weather here has been glorious the past few days. I spent the entire day yesterday and most of the day today tending to my flower beds. Oh, it felt so good, but I'm pretty sure I'll be sore in the morning. No pain, no gain right? It's all worth it because my gardens are raked and weeded and there signs of life beginning to show.

Can you guess what's getting ready to bloom?

Only $1

My oldest son has a new business venture that he excitedly set up after school this afternoon.

So if you need a paper airplane, by all means come to our house. They are only $1.
(ah... that kid makes me smile)

Friday Favorites

Now that the weather has been warming up I am getting the itch to play in my gardens. I love my gardens and love that from the end of April until the snow falls I usually have so many flowers to cut and fill my house with. My gardens right now are just beginning to see signs of life but I am craving floral life in my house. So.... I went a little crazy at Trader Joes yesterday. (They always have a great selection of flowers!!!) My house feels so much more bright and cheery and looking at the vases of flowers throughout my house makes me smile!

For this weeks "Friday Favorites" I thought I would share with you my favorite flowers for early spring.

TULIPS



This is an obvious one. Tulips are a staple in my house in the Spring. I had to buy these ones but am eagerly anticipating cutting ones from my own garden. They have just started to peak out of the ground.

DAFFODILS



Daffodils always remind me of early Spring and Easter. They are so fresh and bright and I love how their stems through a glass vase. FYI, they are super cheap to buy! (usually $2 or less for a bunch of 10)

RANUNCULUS






You have to understand, when I see these at the store I get giddy. Ridiculous, I know. But there is just something I LOVE about these flowers. They aren't easy to find sometimes so if I see them, I usually buy them. Yesterday was a different story. My neighbor and I went to Trader Joes in the morning and there were about 4 buckets filled with Ranunculus. Four Buckets!!! I love you Trader Joes! These blooms also make me think about my friend Meghan, she told me once that these were the flowers in her wedding bouquet. Excellent choice Meghan.

There you have it. My favorite blooms to start the Spring. Now go out and treat yourself to some flowers!

Rest and Medicine and Ice... Oh My!

It has been a crazy few weeks. It looked a little something like this:

LAST MINUTE TRIP TO NASHVILLE FOR A FEW DAYS

ARRIVING HOME TO SICK CHILDREN

CARING FOR SICK CHILDREN

THROWING MY BACK OUT

LAYING ON THE FLOOR, ICING MY BACK AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE

TRIPS TO THE CHIROPRACTOR

MY SWEET MOM STAYING WITH ME TO HELP

HEADING UP NORTH FOR A LITTLE R & R

Now I am almost back to normal. Hopefully there will be no more ear drops, amoxicillin, children's motrin, ice packs, and ibuprofen needed for a while in this house. I want to be outside enjoying the GORGEOUS Spring weather we are having. AND I have A LOT of sewing to do before May 15!

Herb and Dorothy

MUST SEE!!! This documentary is inspiring and sweet - especially if you appreciate art. I highly recommend it.

Friday Favorites

Luca got a very special gift from some friends of ours and I am in LOVE with it. So much that when he is not trying to play with it I have it out as decoration in my house. It is my favorite baby toy right now because it's so simple, the pieces are so easy for Luca to hold and it's just so darn cool looking.

Our friend , Steve, is an amazing carpenter and has been making these. I just love them and think I need to get on Etsy and buy more from him for gifts.

BROKEN BELLS

Wednesday night our boys attend a church program at a local church. One of the things that makes it so much fun for them is that their cousins Ella and Hazel go too. It's nice for us because we get to see my cousin and his wife at least once a week! Last night while we were picking up our kids, my cousin was super excited about an album he had just purchased. It's a band called Broken Bells which consists of Danger Mouse and James Mercer (of the Shins). I knew I needed to check it out. And I did. Thank you Abe! It will be my soundtrack for this rainy/sleety day.

CD OF THE DAY:
BROKEN BELLS

It's Been A Crazy Weekend

I have been terrible this past week about posting on my blog. I made a last minute trip to Nashville to for a long weekend. Luca flew the friendly skies for the first time in his sweet little life. He did fabulous. I am so thankful to have children who do great traveling. I guess travel is a way of life for them so they have to like it. Tyler and I had some great, needed time together. And while Tyler worked, I caught up with friends and even had time to get a haircut. Thanks Brian!

Meanwhile, back in Minnesota. Tyler's parents had a sleep over weekend with Søren and Östen. Unfortunately, our relatively non-sick winter came to an end. Søren threw up one night, Östen had a terrible croup weekend and Søren ended the weekend with a sore throat and a cough. I picked up my two congested, coughing little boys Sunday and realized I should probably make a stop at urgent care to make sure Søren didn't have strep. Sure enough, he did. So we had a relaxing evening of laying low and an early bedtime for all. I had fully anticipated a good night of sleep for our little household. Not so much. My poor Östen woke up crying because his ear hurt and proceeded to moan and cry until 7 a.m. So I sat up with him and rubbed his back and tried everything I could to help him. Nothing really worked. So off to the doctor we went in the morning. Diagnosis: a bad ear infection and a ruptured ear drum!! No wonder he was in such excruciating pain.

So now I have a refrigerator full of Amoxicillin and a medicine-giving schedule to follow: antibiotics, pain meds, ear drops, electrolytes, love and snuggles. I'm hoping Søren will be well enough to go to school tomorrow: if his darn fever would go away and his cough would let up a little. I am so thankful that Luca is not catching anything so far from his brothers. We are in rest and recovery mode at our home.

Apparently sickness has hit Second Street hard this week. To all of you Second Street mom's with sick little ones, hang in there and let's go out when the smoke clears.

Quote of the day: Søren after sneezing and blowing his nose for about the thousandth time today "Life's really not working out for me today." Ha.

Hey... here's a shameless plug.

Buy this concert

on iTunes.
It's a good performance and you get to see
my sexy husband in action playing guitar and singing
with his buddy Mat.

Spring?

I love this time of year. The sun seems just a little brighter, the air smells fresh like Spring and the morning is beginning to be filled with the sounds of birds. Note to self: get the bird feeders out and filled in the next week or so. I'm kind of a geek. I love my bird feeders and love sitting in my living room and watching the birds at the feeder. A few summers ago I was EXCITEDLY talking to my dad about the bird feeder holder Tyler made me for Mother's Day and how excited I was to watch the birds outside my window. I said that I realized it kind of seemed like an old lady hobby and he said, "Well at least you don't have a bird identification book sitting by the window that you reference." I grinned and replied, "Actually, I do." I'll say it here and now. I love birds. I love bird watching. And I am fascinated with knowing about the birds I see. What can I say.

As Minnesotans, we have all been hibernating for months and it seems that these flickers of Spring are so hopeful. I love winter but I always get to a point around this time of year where I'm ready for change. I've had enough snow, I've had enough cold. I am ready for blossoms on my crab apple tree, this sale, tending my gardens, green grass, the sound of kids playing in the neighborhood, the neighbor's cat Booger meowing "thank yous" to me as he gets high on the cat nip that is creeping back out of the ground in my garden, visiting outside with neighbors, bonfires, Saturday night parties at the neighbors, flip flops... need I go on. I am, however, bracing myself because I know that March weather in Minnesota can play with a person's emotions- beautiful and sunny one day and the next could be a blizzard. But I press on with every inch of snow that melts off of my lawn and hope that Spring is close by.

So here's to Spring. May it come quickly and refresh us all!

Friday Favorites

When I find something I really like, I just want to share it with everyone. So I decided that I am going to try, "try" being the key word, to tell you about some of my favorite things on Fridays. I hope you will enjoy it, and maybe some of my favorites will become favorites for you too.

I wear the professional title of "Homemaker." I feel honored to wear this badge. And with it, cleaning my house is part of the job description. I used to hate cleaning (dusting - blerg, mopping - boo). Don't get me wrong, I LOVED the finished project. I just kind of dreaded my cleaning day but did it because I knew I needed to.

Until about 6 years ago.... with a 1 year old in the house I started to feel the need to change some of my cleaning products in the house - less chemically more earth friendly, you know the drill. And with that, I started to realize that there were great products out there that smelled amazing and were less toxic. I thought, "Geez, if I could smell this while I am cleaning, maybe the task won't be so bad." So I purchased this product. After the first use (mopping my floors) I was sold and I actually enjoyed, yes! enjoyed, mopping my floors. I decided then and there that one of my splurges in life would be cleaning products.

Friday is my cleaning day. I actually look forward to deep cleaning my house! I am really pleased with the things that I use to clean my house right now. So for my Friday Favorites, I will let you in on my personal cleaning favorites.

*My FAVORITE product is this:

CALDREA BASIL AND BLUE SAGE ALL PURPOSE CLEANER

I dilute it and use it to mop my floors (it works great on wood floors); I mix it with water in a spray bottle and use it as an all purpose spray to wipe down walls, counters, etc.; and I also dilute it to scrub down surfaces and the toilet. It smells SOOOOO good and when people walk into my house after cleaning day they always comment on how good it smells. Caldrea has other scents too that are great, I am just addicted to this one. I highly recommend going out and getting a bottle of it.

*The best way to clean windows and glass:

NORWEX ANTIBAC CLOTH AND WINDOW CLOTH

You wet down the Antibac Cloth with water, wring it out and wipe down the glass or mirrored surface, then take the Window Cloth and wipe down the surface. It is amazing. No streaks! No smudges! It's just sparkling clean and all you used was water and microfiber cloths. NO CHEMICALS!! Did I mention that I love these?

*For Dusting:

NORWEX ANTIBAC DUSTING MITT

This mitt grabs all the dust so you don't feel like it's just flying all over in the air and I swear my surfaces stay dust-free longer than when I was using other things for dusting.

*For scouring sinks and things:

MRS MEYERS LAVENDER SURFACE SCRUB

This product works really well and I can actually breathe when I'm using it.


Well, there you have it. My favorite cleaning products. Now I am off to use those products since it is Friday, and Friday is deep cleaning day in our house. Let me know if you try any of these, I'd love to know what you think. And, if you are interested in Norwex products I know two great consultants (one in Northern Minnesota and one here in the Minneapolis/St Paul area).

Happy Cleaning!

What's For Lunch?

Today I tried a recipe that I have been dying to try. I got it from one of my favorite blogs.

Carmelized Onion and Cauliflower Tart



Let me tell you, it was so creamy and delicious I savored every bite. Thank you Smitten Kitchen, this will become a regular in our house.

Many Have Asked, And Here's The Answer...

I have had so many people ask who took the pictures that I have recently posted on my facebook page. Well, Christina Teichroew of Teichroew Photography did. And let me tell you, they are amazing!!

She is creative and she made the shoot fun for the boys.

She captured my sweet boys so beautifully. I will treasure these pictures.



Thanks Christina!

She Looks Like a Five Year Old

Östen is 4. Östen loves a girl. He has loved her his whole life. Yes, his entire life. That's what he'll tell you. Her name is Maren and he left her in Nashville, TN when we moved 4 years ago. It doesn't matter to him that she lives so far away, he still thinks that she painted his "beautiful moon."

Today two of Tyler's friends were helping him paint in our basement. I was chatting with them about life and love when Östen chimed in, "I have a girlfriend." I think he felt cool, like the guys were really impressed. As he ran to get a picture of her to show them he stopped at the top of the stairs and said with a sweet grin, "She's 4, but she really looks like a 5 year old!"

Yinghua Art Fair

A friend of mine who makes amazing, beautiful things is organizing a craft/art sale at the Chinese immersion school that her son goes to. Come and check it out!! I will have a table there as well as a few of the other Brighton Market regulars.

More details to come....