These are a few of my favorite things

1) Pandora....I wouldn't be able to make it through the work day without it. I am sure you are sick of me talking about it but I just love it so much.

2)Bookmooch...It is fun getting little packages every couple of weeks.

3)Magazines....I don't have a lot of time, but I just love flipping through them. Somehow I recently I got a subscription to Spin Magazine and I think the writing is clever. And of course, my mainstay is Vanity Fair....

4)White Chocolate Mocha With Skim---Caribou Only, or if I am in NE...then Wilde Roast....

5)Containers...I like bins. I like to separate things and try to keep things organized.

6)Cleaning out my closet...it feels good to get rid of stuff.

7)... (as in in like to use ... WAY TOO MUCH)

8)Vanilla Extract....when ever they say to add a tsp, I always triple or double it. I really don't think you can have too much.

9)Saturday Mornings--when my sleepy kids like to snuggle and I get to make them a yummy breakfast and we sing the Mickey Mouse theme song.

10)Pregnant Ladies....I just love the excitement and giddiness of a new baby coming into the world. And pregnant ladies are just so beautiful.

11)I like the number eleven. My favorite number and it also happens to be the day that Josh and I went on our first date.

My Boy....

celebrated his 2nd birthday yesterday. He really loves swimming and so we had decided to go Baker Park Reserve because they have really nice swimming beaches. Well, with what feels like FALL..arriving early, we had to stick to grilling and playing in the park.

Let me take a moment to tell you about my boy. He is actually quite chatty and joyful, but when he gets in a group, he is the one that sort of circles from the outside observing what others are doing. At his own party yesterday I watched him do that and that is fine. Someday he is just going to explode with information because he has been sitting back taking it all in.

I will make soup for him and Kendall and undeniably, Kendall eats all the noodles and Mason eats all the veggies. They are pair made for each other. And most times that is true. They play pretty well together and he really looks up to his big sister...copying many of her actions. But the one thing that I love is that he loves to dance. A random song will come up and I can almost guarantee that if I turn to look at him, he will be dancing. That must be a sign of a happy kid?

I look at his beautiful face and he never fails to smile at me. He isn't chubby but he just has these soft little legs....not quite muscular yet, but with a tinge of baby fat that I know will disappear soon (but that I pray doesn't). He is so gracious, always saying "Bless you" and "thank you". He calls his shoes...foos...and he loves dapes (grapes). He is still very gentle, he kisses Kendall and he plays with dolls and yet, he loves to go over to Dad's tools and help Dad fix the tractor. Two years ago he was born and I was scared. I thought how the hell am I going to be able to take care of two kids. I felt horrible that I wouldn't be able to be entirely devoted to Kendall and then someone said to me "your love doesn't divide, it just doubles" and that is most surely the case.

Then two weeks after Mason was born he had to go to Children's hospital because he got a fever. It is by far the hardest thing I have ever endured...way harder then birth. He had to have a spinal tap and multiple IVs....a 2 week old.....and I should only be so lucky that it was only a fever. With Kendall I was a good mom, but at that moment in the hospital, I finally learned that you have to stand up for your kids. These nurses were constantly waking him up and poking him and then he got a rash all over and I just couldn't take it anymore. I called the doctor in said that it needed to stop. He needed to sleep, I needed to nurse and that they could occasionally check him but they needed to let him rest. I guess my point for telling you all of this is that I thank Mason for bringing joy in my life every hour of every day. He is helped me to be a better mom and I hope I help him to be a better boy. I so look forward to seeing what kind of boy/man he turns into. A few years ago I got some rings made because I wasn't one of those people that wanted a tattoo, but still wanted something on my body that reminded me of my family.

My first ring says JM LOVE JM LOVE

My second ring says KQ PEACE KQ PEACE

My third ring says MM PATIENCE MM PATIENCE

My last ring says AZ MPLS FAMILY AZ MPLS FAMILY

Mason taught me to slow down, breathe a lot more and just realize that all that other stuff floating around is just stuff. I love you my sweet boy.

Interesting Article

Gotta love the NY Times...they have the best articles. Josh and I have often talked about the "USED" marketplace. We have often wondered about whether the "secondhand" market is even considered when they talk about the economy. They often look at retail sales, but are they looking at used goods? Are they looking at goods that have been bought and sold several times? For instance, I occasionally hit garage sales in the neighborhood. The mom having the sale tells me that she bought the BabyGap shirt at a garage sale last year. So let's say the first mom paid $20 for the shirt new. She waits a year and then sells her shirt at a garage sale for $2.00. Then this mom buys it and a year later she sells it to me for a $1.00. I have it a year and I sell at the ECFE Kids Sale for $1.00. That item has gone through 3 transactions and whose to say it won't go through more. Not to mention that I owned the shirt for a year and I lost no money on it....no depreciation....not bad. (Side note...I am finding that at this toddler stage, the clothes are definitely not going to hold up as well...the kids are so dang active....watermelon juice dirt grass paint diarrhea....yep....not a lot of hand me downs anymore. But I will try and remember this and do what Emily Falconbridge recommends.) The truth of the matter is that when I first had Kendall, I walked into Babies'R'Us and I found it overwelming.....bright lights...87 different kinds of bottles....bouncy seats that cause ADHD....it definitely felt like you were some how being brainwashed into thinking you really did need 142 things on your registry. Yikes......I am glad to know that not everyone is buying into that. A boob (or bottle), a diaper and some love...that is really all they need those first few months. Okay maybe the occasional onesie or nuk.....but seriously....I really had no idea that a baby doesn't really need that much. Since the economy has gone wayward I have seen a larger number of garage sales. Based on watching the stockmarket, stores like Dollar Tree and apparently mechanics are also doing quite well(people are buying used cars and they are driving their old cars longer.) So you would have to guess that stores like Savers, Goodwill, Once Upon A Child and the like must also be doing well. The fact of the matter is, that secondhand/consignment shopping is an excellent way to go if you are trying to be eco-conscious....and I also like to think that by not throwing something out...but rather donating it, I am not taking up as much space in a landfill. I also think the stigma of buying "used/secondhand" clothing is not so much a problem anymore. So all you Recessionistas...go out there and buy....or make.

Okay....big news

No, I am not pregnant.

But I did start a new blog. There is a song that goes something like "My thoughts are so loud, I can't hear myself speak"....well...that is why I started another blog. I have so many damn things rolling around in there that I have to put them somewhere, so here you go:

My Mom Was a Home Economics Teacher

Actually I have two blogs in the works but the Stereotype one is a little heavy and requires more of an undertaking.

Enjoy......oh yeah, no worries, Martha will continue to ramble about funerals and alt bands....

and one for good(cute) measure:

Mason and Spot (the baby rabbit) that fell into our window well.

Well....

$7.00 inflatable swimming pool = KIDS THINKING THEY ARE AT A RESORT....SO WORTH IT

Mason found my underwear...lovely.

Miss Isabella (or Missabella, as the kids call her) came a visiting one day (check out Patricia Fields, I mean Miss Kendall in all of her glorious patterns :)