#TBT

We're way past cabin fever here in Minnesota.

March has not been good to us!

I can't wait for the snow to melt, the ground

to dry up, and be able to start

enjoying more time outside.

This want, goes hand in hand with this weeks

THROW BACK THURSDAY

photos!

Summer 2011

Campfire smores!

Cameron has grown up SO much!

He was just my little toddler in this picture, and now

he's a "big boy".

And this shirt? PLEASE! How cute is he?!

And my baby Eva! Where has this little thing gone?

Now her hair is down to the middle of her back

and her ears are no longer pierced (don't ask!).

As mush as I miss how tiny she once was,

I love how much she has matured and changed

over the last year and half.

Love them so much!



Yes, my BOY wears a necklace.

I can't tell you how many times someone has

commented about how cute JP is, and in the same

moment asked if he's wearing a necklace.

"Is your son wearing a necklace?" -with a cross look on their face.

YES. JP wears a necklace. Every day. Every night.

In fact, it ONLY comes off for baths.

Now before you go judging me as a mother, he's fine wearing it at night.

I know PLENTY of other mothers who allow their children to do the same thing.

I have no worries and no concerns about his safety when wearing it.

That being said, this necklace is legit. I WISH I would have

come across amber teething necklaces with my first two kids!

JP wearing it since he was 3 months old and we

have had ZERO problems with teething!

The kid now has 6 teeth and we haven't had a single sleepless

night in the process.

If you're not familiar with amber teething necklaces (and I'm not exactly

the person to be giving the tutorial), they are basically

a string of amber beads worn to help soothe the pain of teething.

Each bead is individually knotted, so should baby pull on it and break

it, beads won't go flying everywhere.

From what I understand, when the necklace is worn in contact

with the babies skin, body heat causes the amber to release ions that act as

all natural pain relief.

I'm so sold on these things, that I will be gifting

them at ALL baby showers for the rest of my life.

Equality.

Today, gay marriage is illegal in most states. No matter how profound and honest one person may love another, despite the genders of each party, not all are allowed to proclaim that love on a legal platform. Denying two men or two women the human right to enter a marriage sends a message that heterosexuality is more valuable than homosexuality. The philosophy that marriage is for ONE man and ONE woman is unjust, and it is time for change.

LOVE.

HONOR.

COMMITMENT.

I was raised in a family where gay was normal. It wasn’t something that needed to be treated differently. I understand that it can be hard for some people to accept the gay community when they haven’t had the same upbringing and exposure I have had. But this is not a trend. This is not a fad. We’re not going to wake up 100 years from now having eradicated “gay”. It’s here. It’s real. And being gay deserves the same treatment that being straight does.

 I have gay friends. I have gay family members. The love they feel for their partners is no different than the love I feel for my husband. Allowing them to marry the person they choose changes nothing about my marriage.

The time is now. We’re progressed towards equality in so many other aspects, and it’s time to do the same for sexuality.

PARTY PLANNING!

I may not be thrilled that my little babe is rapidly approaching ONE,

but I'm pretty excited to plan his birthday party!

We are LOVING (even my daughter) super heroes right now,

so I'm pretty much sold on the idea of a Captain America themed birthday party.

Here's few photos from Pinterest that I am using as (p)inspiration:

Except this would OBVIOUSLY say John-Patrick.

AND I could make it! DIY!

I love these invites! But if I can incorporate a picture, I will.

My kiddos think marshmallows are the best treats ever,

and let's face it, I do too.

More DIY! I could make Captain America caps for

all 3 kids... or just JP... depending on how

ambitious I'm really feeling when the time comes. ;)

We'll probably go with red and blue cupcakes (that's kind of our thing)

instead of cookies or a cake, but I like the use of the shield on these cookies.

The best part about having a Captain America birthday party?

JP's birthday is only a couple weeks before the 4th of July,

so EVERYTHING will be red, white, and blue!

Finding decoration should be a piece of (cup)cake!

:)



JP's 9 month update!

It has happened.

Baby-bear is 9 months old!

He was in yesterday for his 9 month check up and

as I expected, he's perfect! :)

JP is now 25 pounds 1 ounce

and 31 inches long!

No wonder nothing seems to fit him for more then 6 weeks!

He just won't slow down!

He's still as happy as can be. He really is the

perfect baby brother!

He now has 6 TEETH! Neither of his siblings

even had teeth at 9 months, so he's way a head of the game.

Two of them are just barely visible, but they still count.

His eyes are still blue, and I'm starting to wonder

if it's safe to assume that they'll stay blue.

We have blue eyes on both sides of the family,

so it's not completely outside the realm of possibilities.

And he's still a blondie!

I had stark white hair when I was little,

and I would love for him to have the same.

His brother and sister both have hazel

eyes and brown hair, so a baby with blonde

and blue eyes is kind of a big deal. Haha!

And he's full on crawling now! No more using his

arms and legs to kick and pull his body across the floor all

while dragging his belly on the ground.

I'm sure we're only moments away from him

pulling himself up on to furniture.

And then of course there's walking...

he's only 6 weeks aways from the age his

big brother was when he took his first steps!

Cue the tears.



HOMEMADE fruit snacks!

I'm obsessed with Pinterest!

And when I find a recipe for something I would normally

buy from the store, it almost seems too good to be true.

Of course I knew you could make fruit snacks,

I just had no idea how easy it would be!

 

 

 

1/3 C lemon juice

1/3 C water

2/3 clean and chopped strawberries (this can be substituted for whatever fruit you want to use)

2 tbsp. honey

5 tbsp. gelatin

 

Add lemon juice, water, and strawberries to a sauce pan. Over medium heat, warm the mixture until the strawberries start to soften.

 

Lower heat and stir in honey. Dissolve completely.

 

Puree mixture. (I used a Baby Bullet, and it worked great!)

 

Return the mixture to original pan and whisk in gelatin 1 TBSP at a time. Adding it slowly will help prevent the gelatin from clumping. If the gelatin just get clumpy, you can always puree the mixture again. OPTION: Use a strainer to remove seeds prior to adding gelatin.

 

Once all of the gelatin is completely dissolved, pour the mixture in an 8x8 pan (I used glass).

 

Refrigerate for 1 hour or until mixture is completely set.

 

The fruit snacks will easily lift from the pan in one piece. From here you can cut it into small cubes, or fun shapes!

 



Next time I might use, orange juice instead of lemon.

The fruit snacks were just a little bit tart, but

my kids still loved them.

 

This could easily be something we'll repeat on a weekly basis!

 

:)



#TBT

#throwbackthursday

I LOVE this picture!

I'm sure my sisters and I will never all be pregnant at the same time again,

so this picture (no matter how awkward the posing is, and my lack

of make up) will always be special.

This was taken the morning of my sister Kim's wedding.

May 2012

Kim (far left) was due in September.

Jenn (middle) was due in August.

I was due in June.

:)



.stripping.

We've only been cloth diapering for a couple of months,

and we've already found ourselves having problems.

We primarily use Alva diapers and Flip inserts and covers.

Everything with the Flip system has gone great, but Alvas have been

a different story.

We suddenly started having repelling issues with our pocket diapers.

The part that doesn't make sense to me, is that we wash those the EXACT

same way we wash our Flip inserts, and we never had any

problems with the Flips. They were just as absorbent as they've always been

when the Alva were leaking IMMEDIATELY.

So after lots of reading and research, I found several suggestions

for stripping diapers to clear up repelling issues.

I finally decided to try the Dawn dish soap trick.

It seemed like the easiest thing to do, and didn't require me to purchases

any detergents or equipment to strip my diapers.

Literally all I had to do was squirt a small amount

of the old school blue Dawn dish soap into my washing machine,

and run it on a HOT wash.

I only added the soap for the first wash, but ran the machine

on HOT for FOUR washes before taking the diapers out to dry.

It took a while, and was quite a process, but I'm happy to say

MY ALVAS HAVE BEEN SAVED!

:)



Stuffed peppers!

I'm a Pinterest addict.

I'm always looking for fun recipes and LOVE testing them out.

Last night it was STUFFED PEPPERS!

They were SO good!

Not quite as spicy as I was hoping for, but still good.

Here's the recipe I used:

http://www.skinnytaste.com/2012/09/santa-fe-turkey-stuffed-peppers.html

This really happens.

Maybe not these specific things... but close.

I have lived this.

:)



ERMERGERD.

I get a lump in my throat just thinking about this.

Deep breaths.

My little baby is going to be 9 MONTHS OLD...

NEXT WEEK!

How are we here already?!

9 month update to come.

:)

CHERRY BERRY!

We had a Cherry Berry open in town a few weeks ago,

and we finally got a chance to take the kids.

I had never been to a self-service frozen yogurt bar before but

it was actually kind of fun. "Fun" seems like a weird word to use,

but watching the kids pick out flavors and toppings was comical.

I LOVE her sequence hat just as much as she does!

She wears it all the time! I should probably start hunting

for another one, to replace her pink one, should it ever get

lost/ruined. That's one apocalypse I'd like to avoid.

Cherry Berry had a couple of big screen TVs, and hockey just so

happened to be playing on both. A place where Cameron

could watch hockey AND eat candy covered "ice cream"?

Pretty much the best place on the planet.

I swear Cam and Eva's attire being coordinated with the decor

of Cherry Berry is just a coincidence.

Actually, who am I kidding? I do this ALL the time!

You should see us all at Target.

Only kidding.

My little blue eyed blondie got to eat frozen yogurt too!

He was constantly watching everyone's spoons,

waiting for one to come flying in his direction.

I love these kind of pictures.

Daddy helping his daughter.

Jason gets more amazing every day.

I love him so much.

:)



My mother.

I’ve debated doing this post for weeks, as it is deeply personal. But here it is. I’ve gone back and forth on how to approach it without coming off as a bitter little girl, but the truth is, I don’t know how to put all of this into words… but I’m going to try.

I have a less than ideal relationship with my mother. Or lack of relationship entirely. We were never super close. She has never been my go-to person when something exciting happens, or when I need help with something. We just never had THAT type of relationship. But all that aside, this post is about the last 3 years specifically.

December 2008: My parents were over the moon to find out they were getting their first grandchild. So much so, that within minutes of my husband and I dropping the news on them, they were on their cell phones calling the rest of the family. They were very supportive throughout my pregnancy and showered their unborn grandson with gifts.

August 2009: Cameron was born and my parents were thrilled. I was so excited to see them as grandparents and embraced the new closeness I felt with them. Unfortunately, it was short lived.

When Cameron’s “new-ness” wore off, they were less and less inclined to come around. Despite their slight absence, I felt comfortable leaving Cameron in my mother’s care and asked her to babysit one night while Jay and I went on a date (due to some physical challenges, my father was not someone who could care for a newborn, so from this point on, this post will focus on the deterioration of my relationship with my mother). From the moment she walked in the door, it was like she was ready to leave.

“Hurry back.” “Don’t be out too long.”

Sure, these sort of comments are harmless, but I was a little taken aback that she wasn’t at all excited for some one-on-one time with her only grandchild. But I just wrote it off as her being nervous to care for a baby after so many years. This is where it all started.

From about the time my son was 3 months old she RARELY called or came by the house. I invited her over, occasionally asked if she would be available to watch him, and things of the sort. She always had some sort of an excuse. She had plans. She was planning on stopping at her office. She would be out of town. And my all-time favorite (when called on a Tuesday to see if she would be available on Saturday), “Can you call me back the morning of? I’m not sure what I’ll have going on. I might be busy.”

That was the first real dig. I’m sure it wasn’t meant to be, but that’s how it came off. At this point, you don’t have plans, and I’m asking you if you want to see your grandson. You can’t commit? Why? Because something “better” to do might come along? That conversation occurred in late 2011. I haven't asked her for help, whether it be with my kids or in regards to anything, since.

She hadn’t seen him in weeks and I was hurt that she didn’t appear to be bothered by that. This back and forth “What are you doing this weekend?” “I have plans.” game continued for months. After some explosive conversations, I stopped calling her all together. I was tired of forcing (at least that’s how it felt) a relationship with my children (by now Eva was here) on her. There was a clear difference in how I defined being a grandparent and how she defined being a grandparent.

I know it’s not her job to care for my children, and that wasn’t what I was asking of her. I simply wanted her to be a part of their lives. I wanted them to have a relationship with her. We live in the same town for crying out loud. It is less than two miles from her front door to mine. Despite my best efforts, there was still little to no interaction between her and my kids.

Life went on, and the distance between her and I, and her and my children, only grew.

I am haunted by a run-in we had with her at a local grocery store. She saw us, came over to say hi, and my children had no idea who she was. They both clammed up and couldn’t even make eye contact with her. She may as well have been a complete stranger. This only fueled my anger towards her.

I was sad, hurt, and angry. Why didn’t she want to be a part of their lives? Why didn’t she want to spend time with them? Did she in no way feel any love towards my kids? Did we do something wrong? Are they not good enough to deserve a couple hours of her time?

I’ve cried, screamed, and practically begged her to be proactive, but I’ve gotten nowhere. She even went as far as telling me once that she raised her kids and didn’t owe me anything. I agree, she doesn’t owe me anything. But that doesn’t make up for putting no effort into building a relationship with her grand kids. She even went as far as saying once that she didn't spend time with them because she didn't want to change diapers. Seriously? I couldn’t, and still can’t, believe her logic.

I was broken and determined to never let me children feel any sort of void in their lives because one set of grandparents was completely absent. I gave up trying. I told my parents they were always welcome to see them, but I gave up. I stopped inviting them over. I stopped asking them to babysit. I was done. I felt like I had done more then my part, and it was her turn to put in some effort. I put the ball in her court, and walked away.

We saw my parents for Christmas this past December. I come from a big family, and our family Christmas party seems to bring people out in the masses. Cameron and Eva didn't even notice my parents. Not once did either of them talk to their grandparents. They have NO IDEA who they are. And it breaks my heart. Prior to Christmas, I can't even recall when my Mom had last seen my kids. I know my Dad saw them briefly on Halloween, but my Mom wasn't home when we stopped by for trick or treating.

And here we are. March 12th, and my parents haven't seen my children since Christmas. I've only had ONE conversation with my Mom since then too.

I know there are plenty of little kids who don't see their grandparents frequently, but like I said, we live less then two miles away. There's no excuse.

All of the emotions that surround this situation are only multiplied by how amazing a relationship my babies have with my husband's parents. I truly have the best in-laws.

My in-laws know about what's been going on with my parents, and they have done everything they can to be mine and Jay's biggest supporters. If we need help, they're there for us. My in-laws would move heaven and earth for my kids, no questions asked.

The second we pull in the driveway, car seats cannot contain Cam and Eva. As soon as they're out of the car, they're running for the door. JP LOVES his Grandpa. He could hang out with Grandpa all day. They love my husband's parents and know that they're loved in return.

At the end of the day, I know my children don't feel a void in their lives.

I'm still upset with my parents, but to be totally honest, I've come to a point of acceptance with all of this. My parents are not here. They are not involved in the lives of my children. They're not involved with my family at all. I can't make them do anything, and that's been made very clear. I have a support system, and as much as I want them in my life, I don't need them. Maybe that's a bit harsh to say, but I had to stop wishing and hoping things would change. I can sleep easy knowing I did everything I could.

I'm over it.

pretty PRETTY princess!

I never played dress up with my sisters growing up. Ever.

I don't really know why we didn't... but we didn't.

Which makes it all the stranger, that one of the first things

I imagined when I found out we were have a daughter, was playing dress up.

Maybe I was subconsciously re-living my childhood through her,

and all the things I didn't do.

Long story short... we die for princess dressing in our house now.

She has her Daddy's dark brown eyes.

AH! She's so cute!

Disregard the toys and books scattered about... we

were having a play all day, worry about the mess after hours

sort of day.

-Kate

FLIP system cloth diaper REVIEW.

As I've mentioned in previous posts, I was SUPER nervous about

switching to cloth diapers.

I just thought it would be a huge undertaking. And with 2 toddlers,

 an 8 month old, a husband, a full time job, and

a household to run, my time is already LIMITED.

I don't remember when or how I stumbled
across Flip covers and inserts, but I am so grateful I did!

THEY ARE AMAZING.

They are so absorbent.

We've never had a single leak with this system.

And when you're only going through a couple

of covers a day, your laundry is less then it

would be when using only pockets or all-in-ones.

My husband prefers the hook-and-loop diapers,

but I prefer the snaps.

Then of course there is the price!

SO much cheaper then buying dozens of

the bigger named brands.

I'm in love.

So much so, that I recommended the Flip

system to EVERYONE who asks me about cloth diapers.

I purchased all of my covers and inserts from:

www.diaperjunction.com

If looks could kill.

I was shopping at a local Target a few days ago when

I had a, for lack of a better word, "run-in" with a woman.

My husband and I work opposite shifts (long story short, if we

had all 3 kids in daycare, the monthly expense of

that would be more then our mortgage- so we've

done what we need to in order to go without daycare)

so I run lots of errands with my kids.

It's not easy being out numbered 3 to 1,

but I have really well behaved children and I'm confident

enough in myself to handle taking everyone out on my own.

That being said, the easiest way to get everyone from the truck,

into Target (especially in the snow), is to grab a cart from the parking lot,

load everyone up, and make our way in.

As you can imagine, having a 3 year old, 2 year old,

and 8 month old in a cart makes for a pretty full boat.

Now that I've set the seen...

I was walking in, cart full of babies, when a woman

walking in behind us said, "Wow, you really have your hands full!"

I smiled at her, and replied, "I sure do!"

She looked at each of them, looked at me, and then asked,

"Are they all yours?"

Being the proud mother that I am, I smiled at her again,

"Yes!"

She shot back the most cross, dirty look, I've

ever received IN MY LIFE, said,

"Oh. Wow."

And walked off.

Now, this isn't the first time I've gotten a less

then ideal glance from someone when out with my kids

(never when my husband is with me though-only when I'm solo),

but this woman really got to me.

 I'm 25. I look 25. My children are all close in age.

I know we can look a bit overwhelming.

But to judge me? To think less of me because I have 3 kids?

Is this how single mothers are treated when they're out with

their children? Would she have even noticed us had my husband been with?

I am not ashamed of any choices I've made in my life.

I'm incredibly proud of the person I've become, the decisions I've made,

and the life I've created for myself, my husband, and my family.

I'm not someone who brags about her life, but I've

done pretty damn good for myself.

I have an amazing, supportive (in all aspects) husband.

I have beautiful, healthy, happy children.

I have TWO college degrees.

I have a great job, in my field of study.

I own a home.

I have worked so hard to get where I am, and I let that

woman cut me down to nothing in a glance. I think maybe the

reason she got to me more then anyone else ever has

is because my family and I are in a really great place right now.

Shame on her.

Her judgment on others will come full circle someday.

I could hardly get my shopping done. I even went the other

direction when I saw her in the store. And here I am,

almost a week later, still bothered by her.

Never again will I let a stranger (or anyone for that matter)

make me feel less than, ever again.

I'm better then that, and better then her.

Twins!

Before I had kids, I always thought it was

silly when parents dressed their children in matching outfits.

So much so, that I practically swore off EVER doing it to

my own children someday.

And then I had two boys.

And now I can't help myself.

How cute are they?!

If we're going somewhere (church, family dinner, etc)

I'll dress the kids in similar colors.

Is it cheesy? Is it silly?

Maybe. But it's fricken adorable!

:)

SNOWmageddon.

I'm sure damn near everyone in the country has heard about

the snow in the Midwest. We watched the storm for days and

followed the news to make sure we knew EXACTLY what we were

getting into.

HA. HA. HA.

So this SNOWmageddon that was heading for my front door,

this HUGE storm that was going to dump 12+ inches,

did not live up to the hype.

Don't get me wrong, we still got 6-8 inches in the city I live in,

and I know that can be crippling to some communities,

but let's get real. This is MINNESOTA. 6-8 inches

isn't anything we haven't seen before. Hundreds of times.

And certainly something we're faced with more then once each winter.

If you haven't picked up on it yet, I'm actually disappointed that it wasn't more!

Yep, I'll admit it, I'm that girl. The girl that loves snow.

But if you live here and you're upset about annual snow totals, then

you're in the wrong place. Snowy winters are never going to change.

None the less, the fresh snow made every the huge ugly tree in my

front yard something to be desired.

:)

Babes.

Hi. My name is Kate and I am obsessed with taking

pictures of my children.

Aren't I supposed to be though?!

I can't help but get emotional just LOOKING at pictures of them together.

I thank God every single day for their health and happiness.

My babies are the best thing I've ever done

and will ever do in my life.

:)



Chicago!

A couple weekends ago, my husband and I made the drive

down to Chicago for a long weekend with friends.

It was a BLAST!

It was the first time I had ever spent a night away from my babies,

minus when I was in the hospital giving birth to the next sibling.

So, it goes without saying, I was nervous and sad to leave them,

but I knew my husband and I deserved it.

We left them with my in-laws (side note: I have rock star, kick ass in-laws),

where I knew they would have a great time.

The whole trip was really for an outdoor hockey game at Soldier Field.

Like I've said in previous posts, hockey is life in our house, so

the opportunity to watch the MN Gophers take on the WI Badgers

was not something my husband could pass up.

We got to Chicago Saturday afternoon and did a little walking

downtown. I don't know much about architecture, but

the walk was fun. There are so many gorgeous structures in Chicago!

We stayed on the 26th floor of our hotel. Here's a little

glimpse of our view:

Our dinner reservations Saturday night weren't until 8:30. (I know, who eats that late?!

But in our defense, it was Valentine's weekend and no one realized

how difficult it would be to make reservations.)

So we all grabbed a quick slice of Lou Malnati's pizza to hold us over.

Yum-O.

Turns out it was cheaper for the six of us to take a limo

versus a cab (yeah... go figure), so that's exactly what we did.

On our way to dinner:

We had the most expensive dinner of all time at Benny's.

It was really good, and we had a great time!

I've never had a dry aged steak before, but was

talked into ordering it by my husband. He was right!

Oysters Rockefeller, crab cakes, steaks, wine, creme brulee....

there was nothing bad about the meal.

Except for maybe the $340 bill that it came with.

And that was JUST mine and Jay's portion!

We won't be doing that again any time soon, but

it's fun to go all out every once and awhile.

The hockey game was Sunday, and you'd think after the huge meal

we had the night before, that we wouldn't need breakfast. WRONG.

A friend of a friend suggested this awesome little dinner called Eggy's.

Holy shit. Best breakfast I've ever had. In. My. Life.

I had never heard of Poutine prior to Eggy's, but it sounded too good to not try.

French fries and cheese curds, topped with two eggs, all smothered in sausage gravy.

A heart attack waiting to happen and completely worth the

triple bypass I'll someday now need.

Now, the hockey game.

We called up the limo driver from the night before,

and he was more then willing to take us to Soldier Field as well.

Yep, we were those people. Haha!

Does Soldier Field look like a spaceship to anyone else?

Despite freezing my ass off and the Gophers getting stomped,

it was still fun to watch hockey outside.

That pretty much wraps up our trip.

There was of course a stop for Chicago dogs and some

shopping before making the drive back to good ole' Minnesota.

It was an expensive trip, but worth every second.

:)