Totally, Completely, 100% Random (x2)

Several of you commented that you enjoyed my post a few weeks ago "Totally, completely, and 100% random" so when I was in New York 2 weeks ago, you can believe I saw MANY things that deserved a spot on my random page! And even though everyone is walking around with cameras, and maybe some people dress in such a way that they expect to have their picture taken (unless they are aware it is for the "What Not To Wear" category for Glamour magazine!) it is difficult for me to just stop and take someone's picture, unless they have a hat out on the street in front of them looking for donations.

Therefore, I have to be sneaky. And for me, this is part of the rush! I hope that what I am doing isn't illegal; should I be putting a line across their eyes or something to add anonymity?? If there is anyone out there that has this answer, please tell me now before telling it to my lawyer when I'm sitting behind bars.

Here is the one and only photo I took while in NYC...





Hmmmmm....
it's all I can say.

Our Anniversary

Tim and I celebrated 6 years of marriage this past Sunday, September 21st, and 12 years of being together! Crazy!
So I took a little trip down memory lane...

I had come up with the idea that we should go back to Menomonie (where we met, of course) and take a bike ride on the Red Cedar bike trail as a family, and go out for lunch at one of my favorite places, the Acoustic Cafe (which happens to be where Tim and I went on our second date and I accidentally spit food at him when we were talking and he still brings it up!!!).
We live much closer to Menomonie now, so this can easily be a day trip. The Red Cedar bike trail was where my parents first met Tim; we spent a day back in October of 1996 riding our bikes along the trail and going out for dinner afterward. So I guess all of the landmarks we hit up on Sunday had some meaning to them...

Gage loved riding in his new bike trailer. I just bought it this summer but we had never used it yet. He is sleeping in the back. Too cute. (P.S. Doesn't Tim look fabulous? He's down 75+ lbs.) Takin' a snack break!

Once I knew we were going to go to Menomonie, I got to thinkin'....
Since I had a show in Neillsville on Monday night and would be driving there, maybe one of my parents could meet us in Menomonie, take Gage home with them for the night, and Tim and I could have an evening to ourselves? It worked out perfectly.

We went out for dinner at the restaurant where we had our very first date! And let me tell ya...nothing has changed! Not the atmosphere, the decorations, the menu....
it looked the same as it did in 1996. Not quite sure if that is a good thing or not, but the food was fantastic and after sharing with the waitress (who was a young little thang...probably a college student!!) that it was our anniversary and this was the restaurant that we had visited on our very first date blah blah blah, she brought us out a huge ice cream sundae to share. Oh, the romance!! And then this guy came out of the back room with a violin and the cook marched out and serenaded us with a song and everyone stood up and started clapping, and I was crying.
(That whole last run-on sentence is a crock of crap, but it sure sounded good, didn't it???).

I love you, Tim!

And this last picture is a shout out to some of my ole' college pals that read my site; the Tiki bar is still open and running....
oh, the memories!

Gage and I and our trip out East!

One full week later, I will tell you all about our little trip out East, to visit Auntie "Tee Tee" and Uncle Johnny in New Jersey. I had a busy week with a couple of shows, catching up on laundry and cleaning, and hosting a mom's night out at my place, so this is the first chance I have had to upload any pictures!
Enjoy!


Gage did tremendously well on the plane. He wasn't scared at all during takeoff or landing. Even though lugging his carseat was a royal pain in the arse, it was well worth it. I only had to entertain Gage for the first half hour of each of our two flights; after that he was off to the Land of Nod and so was I!

Katie lives right here. At 11 Park Street. Gage recognized her building by the second day. There are about 6 buildings or so on one street block that all look like this, and we would be driving by one of them and he would say, "Go Tee Tee's house"...and get upset if we kept on driving. It was hard to explain that it DID look like Tee Tee's house, however it wasn't!
Here is Gage talking to his daddy on the phone and telling him all about his airplane ride.
We spent one day at the shore, Point Pleasant, and experienced the best weather possible for a September day at the shore. Gage absolutely loved the entire day. He was so pleasant, and so sweet, and all three of us had a blast. He really is a great kid. A stinker sometimes, but he didn't cry one time while we were out there. Not.One.Time.
Here we are (still picture above I'm talking about, just got a little off track for a second) at an Aquarium located on the boardwalk at Point Pleasant. The day started off a little cool, so we started off doing inside things, then moved ourselves onto the beach next to the leather-skinned seasonal folk that looked quite obviously as if they sat down in May and hadn't gotten up yet!!!!!

Most of the games and shops had closed down for the season, but we found a couple that were open and took full advantage!


Gage absolutely adored the beach. He started out in his clothes, with his pants rolled up...but he lost his balance at one point and fell in. He was a little startled, but as soon as I stripped him down, he forgot all about it and kept on playing.








Mama had to go and find some clearance racks, so we left with a new T-shirt and a pair of swim trunks for next year....all for $10!
Here was Gage literally 3 minutes after pulling out of the parking lot leaving the boardwalk. He was plum tuckered and slept all the way home, which took us longer than usual due to NYC/NJ traffic at 5pm. What were we thinking?!?!? Oh, he is holding onto a blow-up sword that he won in the fishing game!
Aunt Tee Tee made a fort in her living room two nights in a row. We made "pock-corn" (how Gage pronounces it) and watched movies.

We spent one day in NYC, which Gage seemed to enjoy, but truly seemed a little overwhelmed. I mean, we ARE raising a little redneck, and the city can be quite over-stimulating. We found a few parks to play at in Central Park...and spent a good majority of the day there.
A granite slide built right into a rock! Cool!!!






Saying "cheeeeese" yet refusing to look at the camera...the new thing.
At Toys R Us, and then below, us on the giant indoor ferris wheel. We got to sit in the Toy Story one!!!!! That is our favorite!

And what would be a blog of NYC without none other than the (in)famous Naked Cowboy. You should have seen the women flocking to him. Silly.

Family Time

At the Renaissance Festival before the rain came....

Some silly pictures of us in the last month....

My evening view from my favorite spot on the couch...

"Leaving....on a Jet Plane" (so wish me luck!)

Well, I'm finally going to do it. I'm taking Gage on his first airplane trip....by myself! I think Katie is flying with us, but I'm not counting on it until I see her at the gate. That will be helpful!
We are heading to New Jersey to spend the week with my sis and her husband. I say the week, but we should be back by Friday. I think 5 days is long enough to spend away from home! I think we have plans to go into NYC one day (what, are we nuts?!?!?! With a TWO year old!?) and then to PA for a day (only 1.5 hour drive) to see the "Thomas the Tank Engine" museum and a Wild Wild West town. I'll take lots of pictures and get them posted for all to see!

We had visitors this weekend; Carrie, Don and the kids came for overnight on Saturday night and then we headed to the Renaissance Festival today on free tickets that Don won on a radio station. Kind of glad they were free...we only spent 3 hours there, as it started to pour around 1pm and did not let up. We were so soaked by the time we got to our car that I had to wring Gage's blanket out and squeeze the water out of the bottom of my jacket. It was worth it for the meal and Gage got a pony ride AND a giant swing ride. Better luck next year, but it was fun while it wasn't raining!

Prayers Needed

I just received a phone call today from a friend letting me know of someone who is dealing with a difficult journey. A girl I scrapbook with--she is a teacher from Hutchinson, MN--has just found out her 8 year old daughter has leukemia. The prognosis is a good one; however she is looking at 2 years of treatment at this time. I ask for your prayers for Jordan and her family, as I know she needs as many as she can get right now.

My Newest Motto: "They're Only Young Once"

My dear friend Yvonne is the "Super Mom" I look up to and try very hard not to compare myself to. I am not really all that hard on myself about it, because I do like the way I do things, and I'm quite pleased with how Tim and I have been parenting. But I think of us mom's must know know someone like Yvonne...
She always has cookies for you when you visit, talks about the "something-something bisque" she is making for dinner (Here's me...what is "bisque"? Then I remember it was the name of my tomato soup I took out of the Campbell's can last night for dinner...."tomato bisque".) and just all over fully-on-top of everything mom of two. (Don't be embarrassed, Yvonne, be FLATTERED....really!)

So when we go there to "play", the play doh is out on the table, with some sprinkled on the carpet...the markers are sitting out, the kids eat their ice cream sandwiches while running around with milky white drippings dropping off of their chins on the....(wince) carpet...and Yvonne will say, "Don't worry, it cleans up. They are only kids once!". And her house is clean! No spotless, of course, but lovingly lived in. The toys are out just like at our house, so a stranger would know that kids live there, but it is always picked up and clean. Amazing.

I digress.

So I am trying, really and truly trying, to make this my newest motto.

Here is where I started:
95 degrees
Blazing hot sun
Gage wants Ice Cream (and maybe mommy does too)
No place indoors to get any

Okay!






And to be quite honest, after the use of about 14 wet wipes, it cleaned up pretty good! (Now the stroller seat is another story. That one will need the washing machine!)




(If anyone watches "Jon and Kate plus 8 on TLC they would know that she and I would most likely not get along...
she cries when one of her kids get one drop of ice cream on their clothes. But I guess she DOES have 7 more than me......)

Totally, completely and 100% random!

I have a confession to make:
I pay attention to weird things and sometimes become fascinated by them.
For example: when we were in Cancun this past February, my sister and I were laying out on the beach when 4 European men came down the beach and stopped in front of us, all sporting extremely small Speedos and posing in all sorts of unique and interesting ways for photos.

Katie and I sat in awe, watching them jump up onto one anothers' backs, and practically do flips over one another for one photo shot after another. Trust me when I say, this group of men were not (ahem) at all interested in the beautiful feminine bodies Kate or I possess...(wink wink)
they were just fine with what they had come with.

I was so enthralled in these antics, I got out my camera and pretended to take pictures of the waves, but captured their poses instead:




I have to admit to you that I found myself doing this again while at the park the other day.
I saw a man playing with his son while wearing these:



Was I right to be confused?

Hangin' With the Ladies

So Gage is a ladies man, what can we say?

Over Labor Day weekend, my good friend Yvonne and her husband Brian told me they were heading to Stillwater to Teddy Bear Park to hang out for the day. Since we live quite close to this area now, we thought it would be a great day to meet them. Little did we know it was going to be 95+ degrees out....
but it was still a fun day, nonetheless.

Yesterday, Gage and I headed to the MN Zoo where all the stay-at-home mom's go on Mondays as there are no school trips scheduled for Mondays, and we figured it was one of the very first weeks of school so it would be nice and quiet. We were right! This is one of the many perks to being home during the week days....
we met Yvonne and her girls Gabby and Sophie, and Stacy and her daughter Annika. See below for a picture of these three munchkins about a year ago....as compared to now. I thought it was cute.















Check it out. The first picture is of Gabby, Annika, and Gage in August of 2007. The second one was taken yesterday, one whole year later....look at those chubby baby faces!!!!!