4 years

Today is Jareth and my anniversary!  We started dating in 2006, married in 2009, moved to AL and CO and back to MN.  We have had two children, multiple jobs, and even more homes.  4 years seems to have gone by so quickly yet we have really done a lot in that time.

I am so thankful to have found someone so talented, hard working, caring, handsome, and motivated.  He pushes me further than I ever thought I could go and we support each other through it all.

On one of our wedding cards my friend wrote, "I hope today is the day you love each other the least."

This has rang very true.  I thought I loved him when I said, "I Do" but it is nothing compared to how much I love him today.  I can only imagine how much I will love him in 10, 15, or 60 years from now.

Super Mommy

While walking through a very busy Target Minka began shouting "Super Mommy! Mommy to the rescue!"

I just gave a humble smile to all the other jealous onlooking mothers.

Score one for Mommy.

Interview with Miss Minka

How old are you?  2.

Are you a girl or a boy?  Girl.

What is your favorite color?  Red.

Who is your best friend?  Uncle Matt!!
Is Uncle Matt your best friend or your boyfriend?  Boyfriend!
Who is your best friend?  Darius!

What do you want to be when you grow up?  Play with Darius.

How many brothers and sisters do you want?  3 sisters and 5 brothers.

Who do you love more than anyone in the whole world?  (Please say Mommy, please say
Mommy)  Stella.

What is your favorite toy? A slinky!

What is your favorite book?  Elmo center.
Elmo center?  Yes, Elmo center.
Mmmk, whatever that is.

Where do you like to go with Mommy?  The Hospital.  (Nora's arrival has been a big deal for Minka and refers to me in the hospital often.)

Where do you like to go with Daddy?  In daddy's hands when they got the baby out of your tummy.

What is your favorite treat?  Sucker.

What are you scared of?  Not of Grandpa.  Not of Grandma.  Not of the cats or the dogs.
OK.  What are you scared of?  Im not scared of anything!

Homemade cleaners

I apologize for those of you who reached out for the recipe I use for laundry soap. Thank you for your patience.

Here is a link for laundry soap, fabric softener, and dryer balls.

For the bar soap in the laundry detergent I use a handheld cheese grater rather than the food processor to break it into pieces.

I used the following instructions for dryer balls but either would work well I would assume.

Here is a recipe for the ALL TIME BEST all purpose cleaner.  (Thanks to my Aunt Mary for sharing this little gem)

I literally use this to clean almost every surface of my home including mirrors/glass, stovetop, counters, floors, fridge, stainless steel...to name a few.

2 Cups Rubbing Alcohol
1 Tbsp Liquid Dawn
1 Tbsp Ammonia
1 Tbsp White Vinegar
Mix all in a gallon of warm water

Add essential oils if you prefer.

My sister also shared with me that using castile soap and essential oils in a foam soap dispenser works well for hand soap.

I haven't yet tried to make my own dishwasher detergent.  If you have a good recipe for this, please share!

Cool Shades

Nora

About a week old.

Two months and one week old.

Life.

Today is my first day back at work after 11 weeks off. I have fully enjoyed every day I had with my children and family.  I will miss these days of chasing the kids all day to keep the house in order, having time to cook nice dinners for my hubby, seeing my family and friends throughout the week, squeezing in a nap from time to time, and watching the girls grow every single minute of every day.

I am thankful I enjoy my job.  I am grateful to have a job to help our family enjoy fun experiences in life.  I am looking forward to working hard, continuing learning the IT world, and seeing all my co workers again.

But today is one of the hardest days of my life.  Hopefully, not too far from now, I will be able to spend more time with my family and kids.

For now I work.  I work hard. To hopefully one day really relax and look back proud on how much I have accomplished.

I like the way you yoga.

 Minka joins in on the Yoga fun.

Enjoying the weather!

We love being outside!  Here are pics from earlier this week.

Maternity Leave. Its a wrap.

You know how the first child always has boxes and boxes of photos and every little thing from first smile to first haircut is documented then the second child has a few pics and who knows if Mom can even find those?  Well, that is what has happened with the blog.

I will try to do some catch up.

We have all enjoyed having maternity leave.  I have been blessed extra time with my kiddos and I have been so grateful for every second.  Here are a few things we have been doing with my time off.

We spent time with some extra special people.

We built bird feeders.

I have been blessed to see these sisters begin to grow a bond.

We have played. A lot.

I have tried to be a homemaker and actually cook good food.

The recipe for this lemon blueberry bread can be found here.

Minka has surpassed expectations of "big helper"

I have put my family to work on some projects :)

 

We celebrated holidays (St Patricks Day, Easter, Cinco de Mayo).

 Minka is helping build a pinata in the picture below for Cinco de Mayo.

We experienced first smiles.

Jareth was lucky enough to go on a date with this hot chick.

Nora experienced the Bumbo seat for the first time.

 So of course Minka tried it too.

 We have played outside during cold weather.

We have played outside during warm weather.

We have had lots of Mommy time.  

Recently we had this discussion:

Me to Minka:  You know, some day I will have to go back to work.

Minka:  No!  You're teasing me!

I wish I was just teasing you.

And some days were plain exhausting.

2 Months

Nora is now 2 months old.  Look at this cutie.