My Sister's Keeper

Watching My Sister's Keeper tonight. Guess I feel like absolutely bawling my eyes out. FYI, I haven't read the book. Review to follow...



*Update*- So I've been crying for the last 110 minutes! I haven't cried this much during a movie since Life is Beautiful. Listening to the soundtrack alone would cause me to start sobbing. My tip is to have a whole box of tissue with you when you start this movie. If you don't, you will end up using your sleeve because you don't want to pause the movie to go get some.

My recommendation: See it!

A Spring Meal

Simple, light, satisfying. Grilled chicken, green beans, and homemade coleslaw

 
Coleslaw with hand-chopped cabbage seems to taste better than the bagged stuff...

 
Miss G doing a little taste-testing

RECIPE FOR COLESLAW (courtesy of Grandma B):

1/2 cup mayo
1/3 cup + 1/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup sugar (more or less)
3/4 teaspoon season salt
1/2 teaspoon ground mustard
1/4 teaspoon celery salt
chopped/shredded cabbage
optional: shredded carrots, onion

Mix first six ingregients until blended. Add chopped cabbage. Refrigerate.

Breakfast Anyone?

There is something so wonderful and innocent about children's cheeks smelling like syrup. Well, not a random syrup smell (we did have french toast for breakfast), and these cheeks I'm talking about have been washed, yet that smell is just lingering...

 
It is so adorable. Maybe it has to be one's own babes, but...

 
...boy-oh-boy, those cheeks are just asking to be kissed!

Isn't She Lovely

This gem is a gorgeous dresser I snagged off of Craigslist about a year ago- at a ridiculous price ($15!!!). It features dovetail joints and little wooden wheels! Unfortunately, the knobs had been switched out for some modern pulls, stealing some of the charm. On a recent trip to the local hardware store I purchased some lovely knobs to replace the old. My choices came down to two styles which ended up being a leaf or flower design. It brought to mind this poem by Robert Frost which made this experience a bit more delightful. I chose leaves....

 
Before

 
Before Detail

 
After

 
After Detail

At His Happiest

This is my little man, doing what he does best- sticker books. Definitely the latest obsession, these are a lifesaver on chaotic days. Hats off to G&G B who sprung for the latest load!

 
 

Running Shoes

Today I did a new thing. I smiled or waved at everyone I passed while on my run. This doesn't sound like a massive accompishment, but for me it is. I don't normally do this. I've just started running again (after a 6-year hiatus) and I am eating it up. I am, by no means, an accomplished runner- close family and friends can vouch for that! (which is a whole other blog in itself). But to get back on track, I am usually a very introverted person. I would normally look down or away if I were to pass someone. It felt good to look at someone as I was passing them, to acknowledge them in some way. It charms me if someone does the same- so why not pass on the message? I came across an old man on his walk, carrying a bag picking up garbage. An older lady and her dog. A pair of grumpy ladies on an after dinner walk. Sometimes it can mean more to the person receiving than to to the one giving. And what an easy motto for living....

A Mid-April's Day Dream

One of my favorite sounds is the sound of a running lawn mower. I know this seems a bit odd, but let me set the mood. A lawn mower symbolizes all there is of summer- a warm day, working outside, green growing grass, and ahhh.... the smell of cut grass! To think that I actually heard a lawn mower, today, on April 14, in Minnesota, feels oh-so-wonderful. I can't wait for the suffocatingly warm nights that our state offers in summer. I sit with open arms...

"Happy Birthday Cake"

What an overwhelming weekend! In a good way. The birthdays of Miss G and Dino Jack happen to be only four days apart. So whenever April rolls around we end up having something more along the lines of a birth(day)week celebration. And, not to forget, singing 'Happy Birthday' every night before bed. Now that it is Sunday night and all is said and done, I feel a titch sad about my lovies growing older, wiser, and more liberated. But as for that birthday cake- don't let the door hit you on the way out. More chaos, I mean pictures, to follow...

 
 

My 15 Second Break

  I say 15 seconds because usually about 10 seconds after I sit at the table in the morning I have 1-2 children bidding for a spot on my lap. On another note entirely, I'm not sure if it is wonderful or criminal that the muffin is larger than my coffee..... hmmm.... I'll worry about that later...

Egg Salad Sandwiches

Our Spring has been beyond belief! It would be impossible to top this weather. On Saturday we colored a few eggs- only a few because, honestly who can eat egg salad sandwiches for more than three days in a row? This was new territory for Miss G and Dino Jack. It was successful for the most part, but as always, curiosity trumps cleanliness. And shouldn't that sometimes be the case?

 
Don't be jealous of the volume of Miss G's hair

 
Just warming up

 
Old pros

 
You'll have to drag her in, kicking and screaming

Things I am Thankful for Today

Spring weather that feels like Spring weather
My ever-working husband
Naptime
House projects
Being able to open all windows


Dino Jack on a warm day


A wooden crate I've stained for a new toy box


Bright buds right outside the front door