It's not worth it

If you're a commuter like I am, you've probably sped a little bit to get to/from work (why am I in such a hurry to get to work?). Or perhaps you've got a screaming child in the carseat in the back getting on your nerves causing you to speed up a bit more to get home. Or you've witnessed someone tailgating you or weaving in and out of traffic at crazy speeds. The next time you're in your car, think of this:
http://www.hudsonstarobserver.com/articles/index.cfm?id=26714&section=News

I've been writing about all the home renovations we've been doing, much to the assistance of our interior designer, Lori. She stopped over tonight to drop off some pillows and said she was just driving back from putting a cross in a ditch. That is her son in the article. It was a total shock to us to hear about it as we've gotten to know her the past few months. She is happy she had 15 years with him but upset and angry that this could have been prevented. Thank God she has faith, she's really going to need it.

Will this make me slow down on my commute now? I hope so. But there will still be morons on the road who have to get places that are much more important than ours who will still ride our tails or cut us off and put on thier brakes. I have to remember that I have a family to take care of and be conscientious of other drivers who have families as well.

Buckle up and drive carefully!

Thanksgiving Weekend

Uff da! It's Sunday night and we haven't stopped moving since Thanksgiving. It all started with attending Thanksgiving Eve service at church Wednesday night. Thursday morning we awoke and as you can see, Lucy enjoyed her crib time. We headed out to Troy's aunt and uncle's, Jody and Lisa, in Champlin, MN for Thanksgiving Day festivities. We ate a lot and visited and took a walk and did dishes, and all the usual TG Day activities. Troy and I headed back home while everyone stayed overnight in the Cities.

Friday morning I picked up mom at 5:30 to start our shopping. First stop was Joann's where we were greeted by some very rude morning shoppers. Thankfully that was not how the day was going to be - crabby crafty women!!! Then we headed over to Maplewood Mall and got a ton of shopping done, then over to the Midway area to Super Target and Herbergers. Finally back to Woodbury for a late lunch and to drop mom off at home. I got back to Baldwin, unloaded all the packages and then we immediately packed up Lucy and headed to Eden Prairie for the Day After Thanksgiving festivities over at Troy's aunt Rox's. There we visited some more, ate some more and celebrated aunt Charlie's 60th (that must be incorrect) birthday. Then back to Baldwin.

On Friday while I was shopping, Troy brought out all of the Christmas decorations so they could be put up this weekend. So on Saturday we got everything unpacked and Vicky came over to help put up Christmas at our house. This year we wanted a new tree so we purchased one at Menard's. Well once it got put up it was way too fat for the room, so back in the box it went and Troy returned it and went to Fleet Farm to pick up this slimmer tree I had originally saw. Came home, we put it up, uh-uh, tree way too small and skinny. HA! So after dinner, Vicky went with Troy back to Hudson to return that tree and then it was back to Menard's and they picked up a tree we had actually considered buying in the first place. So, three trees later, we have the perfect one and it's all decorated!

Today Vicky came back along with Eric and they decorated our basement up for Christmas while I wrapped presents. Beautiful! I honestly do not have the knack for decorating like this. I know nothing about greenery and placement of objects and all that, so once you see our house, keep in mind this decorating gene runs in Troy's family!

And so another week begins...I need to get into the chiropractor (first time ever) tomorrow as I slept funny or something went out of whack in the shopping spree on Friday. Lots of activities this week - besides working, Vicky and I are having a Silpada jewelry party on Thursday. Friday night is the high school girlfriends holiday get-together. Saturday I will be scrapbooking all day up at church. Troy and I are on altar guild and along with Lucy we're ushering at church for the 8:30 service on Sunday, so lots to do! And when the calendar flips over to December, what a busy month that is!

I'm hoping for snow that stays on the ground before Christmas and I'm hoping for countertops to be installed very soon.

New Lucy things for this week - when on her tummy she'll get up on her hands and put her butt in the air and then push backwards. I think this could be the precursor to crawling. She's also been kind of a crank bear, so perhaps we're finally teething? Or maybe she's a crank bear cuz it's a girl's prerogative to do so.

Sam's Shower

I thought I would quick post some pictures from my sister's shower today. We've got Lucy in her finest, some of the relatives that came, Sam with her lemon-filled cake, and Lucy and Matt Jones reading a story with Kellie. The food was good, Sam got pretty much everything on her registry and then some, and it was nice to visit with everyone.

Now, Lucy had maybe an hour total of napping in because she didn't want to miss any of the action, so I thought for sure she'd be beat by the time everyone left and would crash for hours. Nope, a half hour nap is all she wanted. So, perhaps Lucy and I will both sleep through our regular 2 am waking tonight? I hope so!

The tile guy came and grouted this morning and the fireplace looks fabulous. Now we just need those countertops! No deer for this household this weekend, but we do have fresh venison in the freezer that will get us by for a while.

I am excited that this is a short work week. I love Thanksgiving - nothing to do but eat and enjoy each other's company. Wednesday night we'll do church, Thursday is Thanksgiving at Troy's uncle Jody's house, and Friday could be some shopping and then more eating over at Troy's aunt Rox's house. At some point I'd like to see if there are any Christmas tree sales going on because we could really use a new artificial tree, so if anyone knows of any, let me know!

Have a great week!

Awake Again

Lucy with her new singing bear from Great Auntie Shannon: And showing off her no teeth:

I'm sensing a pattern here, getting up at 2 am. I do it, and Lucy does it, although surprisingly not tonight. I had a crazy dream, which prompted me to wake up and listen for any noise in the house, then go check on Lucy and lock the garage door. So now I'm updating the blog with a couple pictures. I'm sure I will update again later, with pictures from my sister's baby shower.

Went to see The Lion King at the Orpheum yesterday and it was phenomenal, the music, the costumes, how they portrayed the animals, awesome! Then we had a fabulous dinner at the Olive Garden. The Lite FM has been playing Christmas music since last week, so I made the girls listen to that on the ride home. When I got home I found out that the tile guy (who was supposed to finish on Friday) is coming to grout the fireplace at 9 today, so that will be all done before the shower, hopefully the mess is minimal. And, no deer for the Lovestrand men yet. Hopefully today, but Troy did get a deer at the MN opener, so we will have venison.

And now the big debate - do I try to go back to bed, or do I make those 2 pans of baked mostaccioli for the shower?

What time is it?

Here are a couple pictures my friend Jane sent me, after spending the day with us on Friday. Love that smile!

It is almost 3 in the morning and I can't back to sleep. Lucy got up around 2 after she had flipped over on her stomach and started "talking" and I tossed and turned and decided to get up for a bit. Just too much on my mind to sleep. I can't go into detail because I have family who read this blog on a regular basis. I wish it were happy things that were keeping me up late at night but it's some family dysfunction, end of story.

Later on this morning I'll be going in to the office (normally on Tuesdays but this week I switched) and my mom (aka Grandma Val) is going to watch Lucy today. And if any of her coworkers watch this blog, Val is SICK today, very sick, so she couldn't come in to work! She'll probably feel better by tomorrow...

One quick thing I have to vent about - never joke around to me that you are going to kidnap or steal my daughter. I don't care if you're family or not and think she is the sweetest thing in the world and want to take her home. My mother bear instinct immediately comes into action and I will never leave her alone with you, end of that story.

On to happier things...on Wednesdays at play group we talk about our latest joys and concerns with our children, so I'll talk about some joys and what I'm looking forward to. Joys - Lucy's fascination with everything and her expressions, mornings - she is the most happiest at this time and she reacts like she hasn't seen you in days when you go to pick her up. What I'm looking forward to - my sister's baby shower this weekend and having family over, Thanksgiving with Troy's family - many of whom we only see a couple times a year, Lucy's reaction on Thanksgiving seeing all these new faces again and playing with the girls, seeing The Lion King with "the girls" this weekend - we're trying to become more "cultural", for home renovation to be over (soon...very soon), deer hunting season to come to an end so my scrapbooking season can begin, getting Lucy's picture taken with Santa Claus - will she giggle or scream?

And before I go, a special thank you to the Rumpels who brought over more toys and clothing for Lucy to borrow (she is a tall kid and already growing out of the 6-9 month clothing). Some very adorable dresses and lots of "comfies" to be worn!

Another month gone by

It's November 11th. Some may think of today as the day the Packers creamed the Vikings, but instead, it's Lucy's 7-month birthday! And that means pictures with the sheep!

We spent the afternoon celebrating Uncle Keith's 50th birthday and watching a sad sad football game!

Progress on the house continues to creep along, will it ever be done? Troy and I agree, we will never build a house together, it's just too stressful all those options and all that construction, ish!

This weekend flew by too quickly, as they always do. Yesterday after Bible Study, and after Lucy took a long morning nap, we went and picked up Grandma Val and hit some holiday boutiques. Troy got our outdoor CHRISTMAS lights put up (enough of that "Holiday" business, I know what we celebrate at our home!) and Vicky arranged spruce tips in our pots to liven up the front door. Now all we need is snow!

Next weekend the Baldwin girls are going to see The Lion King in Minneapolis on Saturday, and then on Sunday I am hosting my sister's baby shower. Lots to do this week!

Better Late Than Never

Here are some pictures from Halloween of our Happy Pumpkin!

And here she is with the "Great Pumpkin"!

We drove around to a few friends' homes in town to Trick-or-Treat and took pictures at each stop.

Why has it been so long to blog? Well, for starters I couldn't figure out how to get our pictures to upload to the computer, but all Troy had to do was plug in something, duh. And then there's the continuation of "construction" at our home, but major progress has occurred! Our flooring is complete, the smell is nearly gone, Troy finished putting up quarter-round trim along the baseboards and I am in progress of painting the beadboard fronts we have put on our island and cabinet sides. The countertops should be here next week and it's all coming together! What's left? Slate tile surround on the fireplace, tile trim around the countertops, and fixing the "dings" in the walls with putty and paint. This morning Lucy and I are meeting Lori, our interior designer helper, to finish buying window treatments and get quotes on some rugs (she works for the flooring company that did our hardwood floors and they also sell carpet that they can custom-make rugs). So that's what's going on at the home front.

What else has been going on? Last weekend Troy went deer hunting in MN and got a 9-point buck that he's going to mount, pictures coming soon. My mom came out on Saturday and we toured Western WI looking for craft shows, made our first trip to the Cady Cheese store, and went to a spaghetti dinner benefit in town.

Hope everyone is enjoying the cold weather we're having - this is my favorite time of year!