Tid Bit.

This morning’s post is going to be short and sweet. It has been a very crazy week with lots of work and little time for play…and who even wants to hear about work anyway? I was even forced to bring Dan to work with me the days I was filling in. These days aren’t fun for anyone involved.


Yesterday we spent a little bit of time outside with the kitties before heading over to feed the baby cows for Raeann…who is on vacation and can come back anytime now!

And up at the barn….


I will end this post with some DTM bed head. Stay tuned this week. I will be posting some never-before-seen pictures of Dan everyday in celebration of his birthday next Saturday! Also, keep an eye on some giveaways coming up. I am getting some local and national sponsors together and any new subscriber starting now will be automatically entered, as well as those who comment on the post featuring the item being given away (I will let you know when to comment so there won’t be any mass confusion).


Till tomorrow…

 

Travels and Tribulations

First I must start off by addressing a slight error in my last post. After publishing my last post Ryan and I were sitting at the table eating breakfast and he said, “you know you spelled udder wrong.” And I responded, “yeah I did that on purpose, it’s a pun…it’s supposed to be funny.”

We ended the conversation with one word. Ryan saying “oh”. Now that I look back on the post, it makes no sense at all. I mean it was hilarious in my head, but somehow the thought got lost somewhere between my brain in my fingertips. So sorry. Obviously I am no good at being funny on command at 7 a.m….ok moving on!

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On Thursday the three of us made a trip down to Sioux Falls, SD to get a tux fitted for Ryan. He’s going to be in a friends wedding in a couple weeks. It was a perfect fall day. The drive down was beautiful…


That is until I looked in the mirror to put on some makeup…

HOLY CRIPES! I look like Groucho Marx…seriously I must not have looked in the mirror for a week not to notice those bad boys! It was a great way to start the trip. (Honestly, they didn’t look that bad after some strategically placed eyeshadow).

After spending some time in the fabric store and Sam’s Club we got to meet up with Ashley and Nate for dinner and a drink. Dan spent some time giving baby Peters a pep talk and watching the planes soar by right outside the window.




DTM didn’t know what to think about his uncle Nate that day. He was not a fan of his perpetual pensiveness.


After the very long day of crabby babies, crabby dads, horrible service and the worst glass of Port I have ever had (See picture below. courtesy of Ryan. I do see those crows feet. I will be scheduling a Botox appointment next week! Notice eyebrows sans makeup were much worse.) it was good to be headed home…until I had to drive, of course.

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Last night we had a surprise party for my friend Nicole. It was an intimates party. We had a blast, it’s a shame we didn’t have more time to mess around and be silly women.







This was the most fun I have ever had watching someone else open presents. There were a couple of roudy parties in the same room as us that would hoot and holler, applaud and comment on everything Nicole opened.

After seeing everything this girl got, I know her husband will be a very happy man.

It was a great time. Good friends, good food, good service. Thank you Shady Beach Supper Club!

The ultimate party pooper…Literally. This poor little dolly had some problems that night.

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A few days ago I found this genius idea on making apples into candles. It looks awesome and it was so easy! Just one more thing to do with all those apples from our tree.

 Ok off to do something productive…

These Boots.

Tuesday night called for a celebration. Every once in a great while we get all the ladies from work together for a wine night. We call it a “Shady Ladies” night….not, in fact, because we are shady (99 percent of us are married with children, or have children, or are just married), but because the supper club we work at is called Shady Beach.





Alex is going to be mad when she sees these pictures, but oh well… (she and her mom, Terri, had to come after an exercise class).


As we were all drinking our Chardonnay, Mascato, Shiraz, and Riesling we got on the topic of farming. Everyone is still baffled I ended up on the farm, and even more perplexed that I actually help out with some projects. (Just as a side note- I never have actually put the milkers on a cow. When I go to help Ryan I am the utter dipper and cow pusher…for a lack of better words).

The honest to goodness truth in how I am able to do it….is  my boots! For some reason when I put those suckers on I feel like I could tackle anything. I’m not afraid of a little poop, or walking through the yard and stepping on a toad or a snake. They give me my farmhand superpowers.



Dan and I went to pick eggs this morning from the chickens. One of them was especially friendly.






Daniel was very proud of his egg.

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DTM has been getting reacquainted with his bouncer lately. He used to absolutely despise it. Now he doesn’t seem to mind it so much in moderation…he even fell asleep in it one day.

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Dan has also been working hard at standing on more non-mobile objects. He is up to the bathtub, couch, dishwasher door when down, boxes, and a couple other choice objects.

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Favorite newest “used” find… I found this little pumpkin thing.. I don’t even know what it’s meant for but I put a tea light in there and I love it! I light it every night. I’m going through candles like crazy.

Better get going. I smell a very stinky diaper on the run!

Ah, Fall…Finally!

Two days ago we welcomed a new couple on the farm. We are pleased to introduce Johnny and Tracy. They are miniature donkeys. These two sweethearts are lovers…not to each other, of course. They are brothers. Gross.


They cried for attention when we were working in the garden digging up potatoes… which is my new favorite pastime by the way. It’s so fun digging in the dirt not really knowing exactly where there might be some buried treasures. You have to be extra careful not to stab the shovel into the goods so you have to strategically dig. I know it’s lame.


Daniel rolled around in the grass while dad and I did surgery on the garden to remove the potatoes.

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Within the last few days there have been a violent shift in weather. We went from 86 one day to 57 the next. I hope old lady fall decides to stick around. We are definitely ready for sweats, hot chocolate, comfort food, and electric blankets in this house.

Last night I made home-made pretzels for supper. DTM even decided he wanted to try one. It was his first solid food. Not that he technically ate it. He more slobbered on it, poked it and lost interest in it.



Yes I realize these pictures are terrible..and yes, please do sign me up for mother of the year. I did notice Dan has applesauce down his shirt, sleep in his eyes, and freakishly long finger nails. (No worries. They were trimmed this morning.)

Until about ten minutes ago, Daniel was engaged in mid-morning nap. Something we have not had the liberty to enjoy in that last few weeks. He got so comfy with his bottle all wrapped up in the electric blanket he dozed off. Which was both nice and not-so nice for me. Everyone loves a sleeping baby, but he was hogging the blanket. I fortunately fanaggled a corner without waking him up. (Seriously folks. It is freezing in this house. Last time I checked it was 60 degrees. This makes it hard for a cold-blooded momma and a baby who despises socks.)

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One last tidbit of information. Dan is now pulling himself up to stand in his crib! Very exciting, I know. It will be even more exciting when he knows how to scoot over to the edge and do it without being encouraged.

What happens when he forgets to hang on to the rail…

Have a great day friends!

As Promised.

Here are the remainder of the pictures from Duluth. We headed up to Gooseberry Falls one of the last days of our trip. It’s a magical place where the tomatoes sprout thorns and trees grow out of rocks.

Monday, Monday.

Sorry friends! “Tonight” turned into many nights….and most of a morning. We have been going crazy around here the last few days. I have been making applesauce and salsa like a crazy person and freezing it non-stop. We have also had to make time for going to the fair, making the two hour trek for the buddy walk in Sioux Falls, physical therapy, Ryan’s birthday, and much more on top of our normal schedule. I’m getting tired just writing about it.

Here are some pictures from the buddy walk. I wish I would have gotten many more. We can’t wait for next year! Dan met his first girlfriend at the buddy walk this year. Her name is Kaitlin. She is a month younger than Daniel…and she is adorable!




Other buddy walk pictures…

After the buddy walk DTM was completely pooped. We were able to stop into Qdoba and eat without him waking up at all.

The Moment I’ve Been Waiting For…

Literally just about an hour ago, Daniel and I went outside for a stroll to pick some stuff from the garden and feed the goats (which was not accomplished due to the oversized snakes scaling the barn wall…as usual). Daniel always gets a little drowsy when you walk around with him strapped to your back. After heading inside I plopped DTM on the couch and went to the bathroom and picked up my coffee from the kitchen table. By the time I came back to the livingroom this is what I had missed…



The pictures aren’t the best. I was trying to work as fast and quiet as possible.

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Yesterday we enjoyed the B-E-A-utiful weather by going to the park with some family after church.



(my grandma is going to kill me if she sees this picture!)







And my little man…still not enthused to swing.




Ok friends. I better run. The cats are jumping on the keyboard, Daniels in the corner whining, dishes need to be loaded along with laundry to be switched… Hope everyone is having a terrific holiday. I will load some more Duluth photos tonight (I noticed my last post got cut off about half way through…darn wordpress!)

Homeward Bound.

After spending a few days in Duluth it feels really great to see Daniel again! I missed him the whole time. We started our trip by stopping in Alexandria to visit a local winery. It was perfect outside. We sat on the winery terrace and listened to live music while we shared a bottle of wine. The smells (along with the wine) was intoxicating. I had almost forgotten what real trees smell like.

The VERY young lady (11 years old I think) that sang for us was a Ms. Josie Nelson. She has more talent in her pinky than I have in my whole body…it’s pretty sickening. She even writes her own songs. Here is a sample of what she sang. She has a youtube account, so check her out!

http://www.youtube.com/user/guitarjosie#p/u/6/lXBAReBOJbQ
This darn post wont embed the video…after a few tries and many choice words I have given up.
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While in Duluth we got to do some shopping in Canal Park. Of course we picked up some coffee before wandering down the streets. I started laughing when I was looking through the pictures and I noticed the sign saying “no food, no drink” behind Ryan. No wonder I was getting crazy looks from the employees in the store…

One more Canal Park picture…

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Taking a trip on North Shore Scenic Railroad…waiting for our train to come in.


Our conductor was this cute older man who didn’t speak at all. I found myself sneaking pictures of him during the trip…I pretended to be fiddling with the camera and when he wasn’t looking I turned into a complete paparazzi.