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This made my day!

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Here’s a conversation I overheard this evening between my husband and daughter that made my day!

HEIDI (age 6): Daddy, where do pencils come from?

JASON: Well, they come from trees that are cut down, then they take the trees which are brought to a sawmill and cut down into lumber. Then they put the lumber through a lathe and cut it into thin pieces which are then shaped either hexagonal or cylindrical. After that they drill a hole through the thin pieces and put graphite through the hole which is the part you write with. Finally they put the eraser on the top of the pencils and then sell them in packs which you buy in the store. After you sharpen the tips then you can write and draw pictures with them.

HEIDI: No, they come from Pencil-vania!!!

FREE Fit4Mom Twin Cities/Stroller Strides Class & More in Mpls on Friday, June 13 (Must RSVP)

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fit4mom

Fit4Mom Twin Cities is celebrating 4 years as a Twin Cities Fit4Mom Franchise, and is offering a FREE Stroller Strides class in Linden Hills Park on Friday, June 13th at 9:00am for anyone who wants to participate!

Event highlights include:

  • A Goodie bag for the first 25 people to arrive
  • A Great Party afterward
  • Music class from Munchkin Musik [Read more…]

Papa Murphy’s Behind the Counter Tour

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I was given a really neat opportunity along with several other local mom bloggers (#PapaMurphysMoms) to visit Papa Murphy’s Pizza in Blaine for a special Behind the Counter Tour! It was so much fun to go “behind the scenes” to see how freshly Papa Murphy’s pizzas are prepared. We learned a lot and even got to prepare our own pizza!

Here’s a recap of our tour:

First we met Larry, the owner of this Papa Murphy’s store (all Papa Murphy’s are independently owned franchises). He was super nice, gave us some information about the store, said we can take pictures of anything we like and then introduced us to his staff: Darren, Calvin and Lauren. Darren and Calvin are family members so it was great to know this store is a family-owned franchise. Then we headed to the back where we were given freshly baked cinnamon wheels to share! We were so relieved as we had been smelling them since we came in.

[Read more…]

5 Tips for Taking Better Photos of Your Children

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5tipsbetterphotos

I met Nell at a mom’s group event where she discussed “5 tips for taking photos of your children.” I thought her tips were so helpful I invited her to share them here!

This guest post is written by Nell Aburto, a professional photographer. Nell lives in the Twin Cities with her family and owns Pink Parasol Photography. She does beautiful photography of children, families, grads, and more.

 

Hi, my name is Nell Aburto, and I own Pink Parasol Photography, which is a boutique photography business serving the Twin Cities area.   [Read more…]

Top Ten List: You Know It’s Summer in Minnesota When…

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I love summer in Minnesota, but have to laugh at some of the ironies about it, too! Here’s a top ten list I started thinking of while stuck in road construction traffic…

You know it’s summer in Minnesota when…

1. You’re driving and 15 miles per hour feels fast.

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2. People stop complaining about how cold and snowy it is, and start complaining about how hot and humid it is.

3. You put your beach bag on the floor of your car, right next to the ice scraper that you never bothered to put back in your trunk.

4. The parking lots at Menards & Home Depot are a sea full of trucks (& other vehicles) as people rush to get supplies for all their home improvement projects before it starts snowing again or something. (Even when storms knock the power out it’s still packed as people come to buy generators, flashlights, etc…)

5. Church attendance drops by at least 50% on Sunday mornings because suddenly everyone has a cabin or knows someone who does. Worship leaders on Sunday mornings scramble to find people to usher, greet & help serve coffee since no one wants to commit in advance, in case it’s nice out… (I know this because I work in a church!)

6. You absent-mindedly go to work in long pants & dress shoes because you’ve been doing so for 8 months, but now you regret not wearing capris & sandals because it’s hotter than you expected & your toes are covered in sweat.

7. You go to the library & your kids automatically pick out a bunch of cartoons & movies like they did all winter & spring. Then you return them a week later, unwatched because the kids played outside so much, which is a good thing but makes you feel bad about the movies being borrowed for nothing. Then you all go back to the library and do it all over again.

8. Ice cream & popsicles are now dinner.

icecream

9. You’re shopping so much for graduation gifts, wedding gifts, grilling supplies, beach supplies, home improvement materials, road trip supplies, school supplies, & of course, bug spray (those darn little buggers), that you wonder why there isn’t a Black Friday during the summer!!!

10. You get excited about now finally having nice weather & longer days to open all the windows & get all your home organization projects done, but you get maybe 2% done because dang it, IT’S SUMMERTIME and there’s so much fun stuff to do outside! Grad parties! Weddings! Barbecues! The beach! Road trips! Summer is finally HERE!!!!! YAY!!!!!

Ten Things I Fantasize About as a Mom with Young Kids

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1. Sleeping. At random times during the day I’ll think about hiding in my bed under my blankets and enjoying an uninterrupted sleep for as long as I darn well please. When you’re a mom with young kids, sleep is as desirable as relaxing on a tropical island beach. Especially sleep that involves the kids sleeping in their own beds (NOT wanting to sleep between mommy and daddy, pushing you to the very edge and getting kicked throughout the night).

2. Snuggling under a blanket with a book, in a clean room with candles lit. I have a huge stack of books I’ve been wanting to read for the longest time, but by the time I’m done reading Dora and Fancy Nancy and Curious George books to the kids and then finally get them to sleep each night, I’m so tired that I end up just flipping through one or two and then turning off the light.

3. The kids getting along for an entire day. Notice a theme of peace and quiet here? A typical day involves lots of everything with the kids – laughter, playing, running around, then of course – fighting. Usually it’s Thor pulling Heidi’s hair or driving his toy cars into her princess castle followed by crying, calls for “Mom!” and footsteps running my way. Other times it’s both of them hitting each other and then crying, calls for “Mom!” and even more footsteps running my way. How nice it would be to see them enjoying each other’s company for an entire day. A mom can dream… [Read more…]

Kids and that Weird Phenomenon called “Eating”

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Drat, kids and eating your food, what is it?! I was just enjoying some homemade ice cream cake that a friend had given to me when my 2-year-old Thor stopped by to climb on me, only to discover what I was doing.

“Ehhh! Ehhh! Ehhh!” he said to me (that’s what it sounds like when he’s telling me he wants something).

“Okay, you can share it with me.” I responded. Then he and I exchanged bites of what was left of the yummy vanilla ice cream, caramel and Oreo cookie dessert that seemed like the right thing to be eating on a very cold, white and snowy day.

How my kids eat

Thor

HeidiThortableIn actuality, this is how Thor gets most of his food. I’ll give him his own plateful of food and place it on the kids’ table, next to the kitchen table. He may pick at it a bit, then play, run around, pick a little more, and play some more. Other times he’ll just come over to me and see what I’m eating (usually the same thing). Then he’ll crawl on my lap and try to eat off of my plate.

For whatever reason, my food just looks that much more appetizing to him, even when it’s identical to his. I guess it’s like when you try someone else’s homemade soup, eggs or toast, and for whatever reason, it just tastes way better than yours, even when it’s the simplest thing in the world to make. (Unless you really do make the best homemade toast…then I’d like to try yours!) [Read more…]

A Mom’s To Do List

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I got nothing done this weekend, yet I’m exhausted from it, and still have a mom’s to do list the size of Texas.

I was mentally ready to tackle a number of cleaning tasks and projects around the house, but on Saturday morning I just did NOT feel like it. I was tired, and then I swear, there was a full moon or something, because the kids were bouncing off the walls (almost literally), fighting with each other, and zapping all the energy I could muster.

What I did with my time…

I did some monotonous tasks…you know, like the dishes and laundry (which I can’t really put on my to-do list because they’re never really done). But going through the kids’ old clothes, organizing papers, exercising, cleaning the floors…I kept trying, but they just weren’t gonna happen.

mom's to do list

[Read more…]

Toddler Rules of Ownership (& My little Sneak)

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I found this poster of the “Toddler Rules of Ownership” displayed at my kids’ daycare center, outside the toddler room. Many of you may have seen it before, but I’m sharing it here because as the mom of a toddler, it CRACKED ME UP!

Toddler Rules of Ownership (by Kevin McHugh)

1. If I like it, it’s mine.
2. If it’s in my hand, it’s mine.
3. If I can take it from you, it’s mine.
4. If I had it a little while ago, it’s mine.
5. If it’s mine, it must never appear to be yours in any way.
6. If I’m doing or building something, all the pieces are mine.
7. If it looks just like mine, it’s mine.
8. If I saw it first, It’s mine.
9. If you are playing with something and you put it down, automatically it becomes mine.
10. If it’s broken, it’s yours.
11. If it is broken, but you are having fun playing with the pieces, it’s mine again.
12. If there is ANY doubt, it’s mine.

My little one, Thor, is turning 2 next week, and he is the quintessential toddler of toddlers.

He has also become a little thief.

When I pick him up from daycare, suddenly he goes on a mission: He runs to the toys in the preschool area, grabs as many little Hot wheels cars that he can hold (he thinks he can hold more than he really can – that’s always entertaining), and runs to the door so he can play with them at home.

He wants them, therefore he thinks they’re HIS.

[Read more…]

Ten Reasons I Haven’t Yet Lost Those Extra 10 Pregnancy Pounds

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It’s hard to lose weight. But realistically, it’s mind boggling when we can’t figure out why we haven’t lost those extra pregnancy pounds!

1. Moms need coffee. Moms like me need a large iced triple expresso with chocolate and hazelnut syrup. And whipped cream.

2. Wake up at 6am. Chase, change, feed kids. Work. Go home. Chase, change, feed kids. Clean house (at least try to…). Chase, change, put kids to bed. Collapse into bed. When exactly was I supposed to fit in exercise?

3. Taking care of kids does not, unfortunately, technically count as exercise. However, once I can finally collapse in bed every night, I’m out so fast you’d think I just completed a triathlon (in my mind, I kinda did…).

[Read more…]