Ava's Sledding Snow Princess Cake

After a lot of patching because I moved the nearly finished cake to the counter and then gracefully dropped a plate from the cupboard directly onto the skirt, this is the final product. Buttercream with fondant overlay and candy pearls. I had WAY more help than I wanted. 'Nuf said.

Christmas Program - Daner

The build up to the Christmas program began this fall. The Shover preschool Christmas program is a big deal, a real big deal. It is not any different than any preschool program I suppose, although I've never seen any other. The standard fare. More cute than your eyes can absorb singing corny Christmas songs out of tune while vaguely gesturing with their hands. But this year was going to be different. This was the year that we were going to be the parents who, potentially, were going to have the "crier". See, there is a crier every year at the program. The kid who looses it over the thought of being on stage facing overeager parents with video cameras. This year Dane would perform in his first program and my money was on him being the crier.

In the weeks before today Dane would change his mind. One day he was going to star in this little B movie, the next day he had convinced himself that he would rather do anything, anything other than stand on that plywood platform covered in 1970's carpet.

This morning as I dropped him off at daycare he was staunchly in the "anything, anything other" category. He dressed in his Daddy Shirt & Tie, which I am guessing he figured would look just as cool in the folding chairs watching his classmates as it would participating in the program. He looked the part.

We arrived at the program. Dane was whisked away by his (awesome) teacher and reemerged on the stage a card carrying member of the big boy club. His little eyes searched around the room looking for his Dad. He locked eyes, smiled and....stayed on the stage. No tears, no wailing, no bolting for the door. He stayed on the stage for the entire program. He refused to sing, but that is a minor detail, so is the fact that he spontaneously untucked his shirt and was attempting to unbutton it when I gave him my coldest iciest stare to stop him. I was proud of him for doing something out of his element. I was unconcerned that he chose not to sing. I will no longer worry about him being the crier at future events, but I will worry about him being "that kid". That kid who takes his clothes off on stage.

I love my little man.

Christmas Photo Shoot

In October it seemed like a great idea to stage an outside Christmas photo shoot for the 2009 Christmas card. On December 1 it no longer seemed so great. The unusually warm weather in November quickly gave way to cold icy wind. Even though you will not see snow on the ground behind my squirmy looking family pictures, I can practically see the ice in the air. The location is the Prairie Wetlands Center right outside of Fergus Falls, MN.

The children in these pictures are not my own. MY kids would have stood still and looked into the camera with their beautiful angelic faces. MY kids would not have needed both of their mother's hands elbow deep up their noses to retrieve boogers before the shoot, and my kids most definitely would not have stuck out their tongues at the camera!

Please note that Ava was not happy with this whole arrangement. She is typically a camera hog, but the only thing on her mind, which is painfully obvious from the photos, was the inside.

Merry Christmas!

The camper cake

Dancing under the harvest moon

I swear three weeks ago we decided to spend the rest of our summer weekends hanging out at home and traveling no more than the miles it takes to get ice cream at Granny's. But, when the decision was made to celebrate Grandma's birthday in conjunction with the Green Lake labor day party, it was impossible to say no. One "camper cake" later ( pictures to follow! ) we made our best attempt at surprising someone who has made a living of not being surprised by anything. This party was no exception.

As the sun went down on the campgrounds, droves of children came out of the woodwork. Suddenly fifty kids were playing football, driving mini 4-wheelers and were generally engaged in trying to permanently injure themselves. Ava, probably tired from her first week of preschool, was generally uninterested. She made her way from camper to camper meeting new friends and quickly leaving them behind. A pet bunny that a camper had brought along for the weekend kept her interest for a while as we loaded up plates full of food from the 15 foot long table of potluck offerings. Once the food was largely devoured a DJ began setting up shop on a hill between the lake and the campgrounds. The expanse of freshly mowed prairie looked surreal against the backdrop of flashing lights and mobile disco ball. Both kids were apprehensive, but once Hannah Montana started blaring across the lake, Ava perked up. Instantly a group of 5-7 year old girls hoarded together on the "dance floor" unsure of what to do with themselves.

I couldn't help but remember the years of junior high and high school dances and the liberation of dancing without a real care in the world. All these girls needed was a little encouragement...in the form of a 30 something mother with a couple of glasses of box wine in her system. Two hours and many Black Eyed Peas songs later I was dripping in sweat with a permanent smile on my face. Ava and Dane danced with no rhythm, rhyme or reason, just like their mother. Dane showed off his break dance skills for everyone while Grandpa Ron sang old old school karaoke. I am sure I looked like an idiot. In fact, I am positive about that. But the feel of wet grass underfoot and the harvest moon up above were an amazing combination. As darkness fell the fireworks went up. We moved off to the side and snuggled down into the grass - one child in each armpit - and watched the show while adding our most convincing "ooohhhhhhs" and "aahhhhhhs".

At exactly 9:30 the switch flipped and Dane began begging LOUDLY to go to sleep. Ava joined the frantic chorus and we retired to Auntie & Uncle's camper to break down the dining room table into a not so comfy bed for the night. I had all intentions of rejoining the campfire, but it never happened. I did wake up around 3:00 AM when Auntie & Uncle decided to leave the campfire themselves and settle down for a solid 3 hours of sleep.

What a joyful evening followed by an early morning "I love you" from Dane before he decided to wrestle with Uncle who would have really liked a couple of extra hours of sleep. Oh well!

We are now back at home in Fergus. The kids are watching a movie, well, Dane was watching but he fell asleep. The suitcase is unpacked and I do think we will stick to our plan this time and leave that suitcase in the attic until Christmas. What a wild summer! Time to try our hardest to have a more "selfish" fall and spend less time in the van and more time soaking up the weather.

A birthday gift to me

In October I turn 34. THIRTY-FOUR. t.h.i.r.t.y.f.o.u.r. Ugh.

I have so many things to be thankful for - two beautiful naughty ungrateful wonderful children, a loving husband, a solid career, a super fabulous sister and much much more. But, I also have my Grandmother Helen's arms. God bless her and her chubby German arms but I am not ready for them at 34. So, here we are. I have developed a consistent running schedule again and I feel great about that but it is time to learn some new tricks.

Enter from left stage, Amanda DeYounge, personal trainer. A drop dead gorgeous blonde with energy to spare and legs the size of my pinkie (on a skinny day). I purchased 16 sessions with DeYounge to prepare myself for the big 3-4.

Today was our first session, and regretfully, I may have called her crazy. I meant it in a good way. GOOD CRAZY, ya know? I cannot wait to see what develops over the next 15 sessions - I will keep you posted!

My burning thighs and I are going back to work.