If you give a Mindi a muffin

She is going to want to curl up and read a good book with it. And if she reads this book, it's really going to give her a lot to swirl and swallow. And then she will highly recommend it to you. When you read it, she will probably love to hear your thoughts on it. And then when she is done discussing it, she will want a muffin.
You should probably make her one of these muffins. If you do, you will be friends forever.

THE END.

Relaxing and Busy

I'm still alive. I am. Thankfully.

It's just that life suddenly got more relaxing and busy, simultaneously. I know that doesn't seem to make sense, but it really does. We took a hip-based trip to MN for Logan's surgery. And it went as well as it could have. He had his pins and plates taken out, along with a lot of scar tissue. Apparently, his scar tissue was causing his limp. So, it wasn't the fact that we weren't working hard enough or doing his exercises correctly, after all. The limp should be nonexistent by six weeks post-op if all goes well. YAY! So long as the young man doesn't fall or injure himself in any way before the end of February, things are really looking up in that department.

And Kaija? Good to go. No brace, no surgery. PTL! We are so relieved to possibly have a reprieve from hip issues for the time being.

Now that an end is in sight, I can be honest: maybe I can finally relax and enjoy a trip to MN next time we go. It's not easy bringing your child home to somebody else's house after surgery. I think it adds to the stress for all the parties involved. My parents, included, since we stay with them. Although, I must admit, it's nice to have my family there in times like that. And it's good to have an excuse to go to MN on a regular basis. Even though it isn't fun to always have an appointment looming over my head when I'm there, either. And to be so hopeful for good news, only to be let down (at least a little) each time. Hopefully the next time I go there, I can concentrate solely on seeing who I want to see- with not a hippie care in the world.

I'm just thankful that while God gives us trials, he also provides us with the strength, support and tools to get through it. And with the trials come unexpected blessings. Which really makes things easier.

So, as you can see, when a little weight was lifted from our shoulders, life became a little more relaxing. And then I started working. And it got a little busier. In a good way. I think this is *exactly* what this chick needed. It's good for me to feel like something else besides a mom every day. BTW: Kudos to you working mommies out there. It's a balancing act. And I am not even working a lot! (I decided to do tax prep after all. And I LOVE it so far.)

Life is good. Hope yours is, too.

Two for two.

January is so good to us. It has brought us two fabulous additions to our family.

Happy Birthdays to my two little love bugs.

I love you to the moon and all the stars and all the faraway places. And back.

These two little ones, that I share my weekdays with, are as different as night and day.

I found a quote while scrapbooking that fits Izzy to a T: "One must have chaos within oneself to give birth to a dancing star." And she is a dancing star. She's got her own little world that revolves around her and her alone. She'll entertain herself all day long. She'll entertain anyone, especially those older than her, all day long. Because she has a very strong personality, she can be a little bossy. I see that as a perfect tool to not take any sh*t from anyone. She is most definitely a people person and loves to be the center of attention. And she says things that make me laugh all the time. And things that make her sound older than she really is. To know her is to love her.
And then there is Kaija. If boys are a noise with dirt on them, then Kaija is a noise with a scribble. This one had a rough start to life, with a belly that gave her trouble and a chaotic move within months of entering the world. It's no wonder she's a little chaotic to this day. The world and my walls are her canvas. And she's in the stage where she is learning about the world around her and testing her boundaries. If you tell her no, she will keep pushing a little further. It's fun to watch her personality emerging. I'm still learning who she is. Once they get past these "terrible twos" it's easier to see it a little clearer. The good things about this stage is that they are finally getting their words. And the way she repeats everything just melts my heart. She loves a good snuggle. If you can spare her some attention, she'll stay out of trouble. Some days, it's just worth letting the dust and laundry pile up. Everything else can wait until naptime. Which, btw, is one of the best things about her- she loves to lay down to sleep without a fuss. Oh, how she loves to love. If you are the one lucky enough to scoop her out of her crib at the end of a sleep, she will give you enough love to make it through all of her little stunts she will pull that day.

I love them both so very much. And I'm lucky to be their mommy.

*I sat my two little love bugs on my lap and read this post to them. And Izzy tells me, "Oh, thank you, momma! I love you that much, too. It's not really that far to the stars, though."

She failed to remember that I took the quote from her little mouth.

Irene, avocados and resolutions.

Let me tell you about my friend Irene.

She was the very first friend that I made in New Mexico. I am so very thankful that our paths ran side by side for a little while. Our husbands worked together in NM. She helped me to ease into life in NM, the unpredictability of our husbands jobs and the new life we had chosen. One week after our vehicle pulled into NM, she was introducing me to her friends. There are few people to whom I feel as though I owe as much to, as her. She, btw, is my friend from my favorite friend moment. Had it not been for her, I imagine that my life in NM would have been immensely different. Lonelier.

One of the most important things I learned from her was the beauty of an avocado. To know Irene is to know that she thinks she is a horrendous cook. She claims she once burnt mac & cheese. It's not like I don't believe that- I once burnt hard boiled eggs. (Put them boiling and left them until all the water evaporated, plus another couple minutes. Oops.) It's just that she was born and raised in Mexico. And, apparently, their food needs to be tended to and needs to to cook slooooooowwwwwwly to be "real food". I'm sure it's amazing. But the amount of time it takes to makes something doesn't equate to how good it tastes, necessarily. If in doubt, refer back to my boiled eggs story.

So, long story short: lies. She knows her way around a kitchen. I don't have to know what kind of legal shortcuts she took to make whatever it is she is serving. Truth is, I probably know. Because she always invited you over well before the meal was served. Being the fabulous hostess she was, she'd have some kind of food to munch on as you chatted and watched her (slowly) prepare your food. I really think she has a complex about time and food prep. (Am I right, Amy and Aimee?) Anywho. She introduced me to some of my favorite foods to date: pinto beans. Tostadas. And AVOCADOS.

Yum. So simple, but amazing. She made me a cheese quesadilla from this delicious and perfectly melty mexican cheese that I have only found at one store in my life. It's a white cheese. Asadero. But, not the asadero that other stores sell. This stuff was in a class of it's own. As the quesadillas cooked, she cut an avocado in half, removed the pit, and slowly mashed the avocado in it's skin. And then she smeared the quesadilla with the avocado. And told me to sprinkle it with salt. That's it. Three ingredients, with salt to season. And it rocked my freakin' world. It was so simple, but it let the avocado shine. My life has not been the same since.

Why all of this? Well, I made that for myself for lunch today, so it's on my mind. You need to try it. It's okay if you can't find the same cheese, you want the avocado to take center stage. It's a must try. And avocados are so good for you, to boot. So it's a win, win.

I've been looking around and I realized that my News Years post was a little generic. And so are my resolutions. I am going to compile more and put them up on my wall so that I can see and remember them all year.

And introducing this family to foods (mostly produce) that I don't normally put on the table is going to be one of them. Yesterday we tried Starfruit. Interesting. What do you suggest and how do you eat it?

Goodbye, 2011.

This year's finale is a quiet one. *Perfect*

If I had to sum 2011 up in one word, it would have to be: over. Kidding. I'd have to say it was weird. Yeah, that is the best I can do. It sort of made me feel like, oh my goodness! I'm a grown up now. I deal with big people stuff. I make decisions based off what is best for me and these other people that share my home and heart. And I'm responsible for creating their good memories, protecting them and opening their eyes to the world around them. Which sometimes (unfortunately) goes hand in hand. When did all this happen? Obviously, I've always kind of known this all along, but I was really tested a lot this year. And my Mama Bear instinct is intact.

We've dealt with some big stuff, but came out with all of our fingers and toes. And for that, I am thankful. Along with it, we have had some really great highlights: Logan coming out of surgery without a spica cast (BEST EVER MOMENT OF 2011), Washington DC & Delaware (kids first time to see the ocean), our St. John's trip where we stayed in a cabin on Lake Superior (HEAVENLY), completing my 50 mile bike ride, and the list goes on. We've grown stronger friendships, met more people, grown more comfortable in our new area, experienced a lot of good things to even out the struggles. And quite honestly, 2011 was vastly easier than 2010. If we keep this pattern up, 2012 show pass by with hardly any hiccups. Ha!

I know a lot of people aren't fans of New Year's resolutions. I AM. Why not try to change for the better? My biggest struggle is remembering what mine were. So I'll write mine down for the sake of remembering. I'm not sure if I'd consider my last year's resolutions a success or not.

This year, I am going to:

1. Give running a good shot. I have some personal goals that for now will stay that way- personal. But it's specific and I will know if I met it or not. (certain mileage and speed)

2. Enjoy my kids more. This means more time out of my day to spend with them in some way: on the floor playing, Uno, playground, beach, outside, etc. I really need to do this. We were just checking out some old videos and my kids have *sob* grown too much, too fast. I feel like I haven't soaked it all in. It's hard to remember when you are going from day to day. The days are long, but the years are fast.

3. Be more Urho-like. BWAHAHAHAHAHA. If you get it, you get it.

4. I actually have more, but I don't (gasp!) share everything with you.

I hope that your year was fabulous, but this next one is even better. And if it's not, I hope that God will bless you with the knowledge, resources and people you need to get through it as unscathed as possible.

SO HERE'S TO TWENTY-TWELVE!!

Close to perfect

This one tells me, "I wish I had a fashion bwain wike Hawey". I don't know, my love, I think you have a fashion brain. Judging by this outfit, you will never be a wallflower. (You can't tell by the picture, but her leggings sparkle and her shoes light up. And yes, she wore that outfit to church on Christmas morning. Maybe I'm crazy, but I want my kids to feel free to express themselves. I learned that from my sister Tara. She's good like that.)

Christmas was really good. Last year was a little lonely and I kicked myself for not going to MN since we are living so much closer. (It's all relative.) So I swore we would this year. Alas, it was not so. Soon we will be heading that way for an earlier-than-planned plate removal surgery (Logan), so... We spent our 6th Christmas away from family. I'll admit, I was really bummed at first. But, with so many people in our life dealing with tough circumstances, including my Aunt Christine who reads my blog and has many times sent me kind words when I was dealing with stuff, I guess I realized how lucky I really am. I've got a lot to be thankful for.

Needless to say, once all prep was done, I just kicked back and enjoyed it. Christmas Eve was quiet and was ours alone. Just how I like it. Then Christmas Day hit. Stockings, church, lunch with Zane's co-worker and his family (they have absolutely no family here), and then off to my Aunt Ginny & Uncle Roger's house. Later in the evening, Uncle Mark came from the hospital with his youngest kids. And so we got to visit with a lot of cousins that I wouldn't normally see. It wasn't what we had originally planned, but somehow it turned out perfect.

I hope yours was perfect, too.

BUSTED!!

We set up the trail camera to capture the action.

And what to it's wandering eyes did appear...

And then he saw the plate of cookies. I'm not judging. They were good cookies.

This trail camera that I bought for Zane has really been worth the money.

Just a note: if you ever decide to moon somebody's trail camera, make sure it is

on before you go through the effort of trudging into the mosquitoey woods.

I would never do something like that, but I wouldn't put it past you.

And I just thought that you might need that piece of advice.

Anyways. I hope that jolly man (pictured above) brought you everything you wanted. And more.