For Kdee...

A big hello to my little peanut! Last night I met your teacher, who was very nice! Here are a couple of pictures of Mrs. D and your classroom. Mrs. D was so friendly, and I could just tell you're going to have a lot of fun learning this year. I can't wait to see you tomorrow, but am so happy that you're having a blast with Grandma & Grandpa! Love you lots!!!

What I know for sure...this week

In the grand tradition of Oprah, I've decided to share "what I know for sure". Keep in mind, it could all change by next week, but for now...

1) When doing home projects, take stock of your equipment. Especially when you plan to remove a wallpaper border and realize, quite late at night, that you're missing your--oh my--Paper Tiger! Make shift tools, like tweezers or putty knives, do not work, even when you try really, really hard. Accept the reality that the Paper Tiger scores wallpaper like a dream and is the only way the work will get done. Further recognize that when tools are combined with proper products like Dif, wallpaper actually comes off of the wall. If not used, your wallpaper border looks rather like a tiger chewed on it, and your work takes you into the next evening...cursing.

2) When doing late night home projects, make jokes about product names such as, "What's the Dif?". Understand that as the night progresses, your jokes will become increasingly lame and somehow more funny.

3) When late night home projects start frustrating you beyond measure, it's completely acceptable to take a break and watch Rockstar Supernova. Awesome TV should not be denied, so allow yourself to get sucked in. So, understandably, I'm sucked into this show (as I was with the last Rockstar), especially now that it's down to the final 6. The competition is heating up and in my opinion, Dilana and Magni are by far the most talented and deserve the win. And while I'm on awesome TV, there's always The Office, which premieres on September 21. Now, I gave the British version a go before the American one, but I'm all about the American version. I know for sure that laughing so hard that you actually double over in tears is a good thing--and this show can do that for me. Especially during Friday mornings when my friend Heather and I recall the episode from the night before. What I know? Laughter=fun=good thing!!

4) It's OK to indulge in guilty pleasures, even when you grow up in the Northern states' tradition of always feeling guilty. Let's say you enjoy Justin Timberlake and are excited that his new album comes out on September 12. Let's say that you normally keep that to yourself for fear of being mocked. What I know for sure is that you're ok, and that many other folks may also enjoy JT. I mean, Justin Timberlake. New album, September 12.

5) When you're craving a treat during the summer, Icee's are simply delightful. What I know for sure is that with so many flavors available, it pays to stick to the tried and true "Cherry". Oh, sure, it doesn't taste like the ones at K-Mart during the 80's, but man oh man, it will still make you smile with glee. I've found children also enjoy Icee's, which creates more glee. Should Icee's not be available, then I know that Dairy Queen should be equally high on the treat list. Especially Peanut Buster Parfaits. Yum.

6) And...yes...I know that mental breaks from work are important for increased productivity later...

Life as we know it...

What? It’s the work week already? Wow, the weekend really flew by for the ribclan. This is most likely due to the fact that we were having lots of fun during a weekend at home…well, we were home some of the time!

On Friday night, Kdee and I went to a spaghetti benefit dinner for my friend, and Kdee’s classmate’s mom, Debbie Hoople (as mentioned earlier on our blog). This woman is a walking miracle. I am beyond amazed at her strength and determination to get well so she could return home to her family. Today, only 2 short months after her horrible car accident that left her in a medicated coma for 4 weeks (to recover from her her many injuries), she is home, walking and talking like normal. It is no doubt that her strong love for her family, her family’s strong love of her and her faith healed her. At the benefit her mom joked with her that she should have worn her back brace and brought her walker to make it look more believable. She is truly an inspiration.

Later that night, ribB played in the first game of his annual softball tournament—a late game at 10pm, that’s for sure, which they won. During his game, my friend Susan and I were able to finally accomplish something we’ve looked forward to after her move to the neighborhood—a spontaneous get together! With one call, she was over within what seemed like 1 minute! We both felt like we were back in college with our late night talk. I am so happy to have her so close by! (Now, if all my other friends could move to the neighborhood, too, that’d be so awesome!)

On Saturday I got a fun day out when Susan and I went to visit our mutual friend, Shelly (whom I met at college and then met Susan through, who was a childhood friend of Shelly’s). She is due with her first child in September, and we had a lot of fun hearing all about her pregnancy, plans for her baby boy and filling her in with probably too many details of our own parenthood experiences! We definitely did a lot of laughing together, especially when Shelly opened our care package for her (which held lots of practical "for-the-mom-to-be" gifts!). I will long remember Susan and I spontaneously stopping at 2 garage sales close to Shelly’s house and digging through the happy meal toys to add to her loot (and initiate Shelly into that impending reality; for the record, my vote is with the McDonald’s toys).

I was having so much fun with Susan and Shelly that I got home just in the knick of time for rib to leave for his next tournament game. The kids and I went up to the fields to watch a bit (with lots of cheering for dad!) and play at the new playground next to the fields. ribB’s team won not only that game, but also the next one which put them into the last day of play on Sunday.

On Sunday, riB was at the fields bright and early (alright, 9am, not so early for us). Unfortunately his team lost that game, but ribB was so pleased with this team and the level of play they brought to the game each week (the league has played since May). It was definitely a good season. We later had some fun with a lunch out (always a bit chaotic, but still a treat) and picking up paint for a “secret” project to re-do Kdee’s room while she is at her grandparents this week. We’ve been long wishing to get her “big sister” room redecorated, but it seemd we could never get a weekend or long enough chunk of time to do it without "helpers" (aka kids!). We figured this week was as good as it was going to get, so we better take the opportunity. We’re really looking forward to surprising her!

And speaking of Kdee, I’m feeling like I’ve lost my left arm since ribB drove her to meet Grandpa on Sunday night. As some of you know, she’s definitely been testing our patience more lately and even despite that, I quickly missed her. The thing with parenthood that continues to surprise me is the range of emotions one can have. One minute--total gushy love, and then the next moment, mind-numbing frustration! We were both excited to have a “break” (ie-down to one child!), but we know this week is going to feel incredibly odd without our “peanut”. (On a side note, I have “Super Nanny” on and while I can empathize a bit with any parent, I do feel like a much more competent parent now!)

While ribB was “delivering” Kdee to Grandpa, I was enjoying a dinner out with my wonderful high school friends, Angie, Lisa and Jacqueline. I could seriously spend endless hours talking with these wonderful women (and practically did at Jac’s house a couple of weeks ago!). They are all interesting, insightful, funny and caring women. It’s an added bonus that I’ve known them all since Kindergarten (how rare is that?!?) and there are many things that are understood within the group. All the same, these women are a great support system for the learning curve called life. I am blessed!

So here we are, back to the weekdays and down to one child! This time alone with little B is a gift. As a second child, his opportunities for full-on mom & dad time are pretty limited. We’re enjoying all the guilt-free time of showering him with our attention. And I won’t mention how easy the morning routine has been. Nope, won’t mention it at all.
I’d feel guilty. Huh? Easy morning routine? What? As little B would say, “WHEEEE!!!!”

Some last funny things: 1) Kdee has been a climbing machine. Our front tree has been loaded with jump ropes, which are part of her climbing gear. The next time you venture to our house, just look for the one with multiple jump ropes in the tree…it’s definitely the only house on the block that looks like that! 2) little B’s version of “hello” sounds an awful lot like Droopy dog on Yogi Bear…”hairrr-row”; 3) have I mentioned my children’s obsession with deer? Have I mentioned my drive with 2 children using deer calls for 15 miles? Talk about a sanity tester after a long day. 4) Kdee has a teacher! We got an awesome letter from her this past Saturday and now school feels official. We can’t wait to meet her. 5) getting ready in the morning with little B is interesting. In a nutshell, the following image captures the scene well: being whacked with a blow up "Pirates of the Carribbean" sword while blow drying my hair or applying make up (yes, it's a McDonald's toy!). For now, I regularly wish I could get ready as fast as ribB, but alas, that's not going to happen. So, whack away young man, whack away...mama's got to get ready!

It's almost the holiday weekend! I hope the week goes by nice and easy for each of you...

pictures: 1) Shelly, Susan and myself during our fun visit; 2) Jacqueline, Angie, Lisa and myself after an awesome dinner overlooking the St. Croix River...

a couple more photos...

just in case 4 photos weren't enough, here are a couple more photos for your enjoyment:

1) Ben's "eyes"--this is the look you get when you tell him "no" or make him look into your eyes to talk to him more seriously
(he also doesn't break a mad stare back very easily...almost like a dog, he'll stare you down pretty hard if he's mad enough)

2) fall is coming...sunset at the lake up north...

Long time, no write

Ok, ok...if you're a regular blog reader, my guess is you've been wondering where I've been. Well, it's the same old excuse-busy--but I'm back with lots to write about!

Let's see--where to begin. Since the last blog was a little plug for our family-favorite festival, Pepperfest, let's start there. The Ribclan kicked off another fun-filled pepper year with the annual dining at the fest grounds. How can you go wrong with homemade dago sandwiches, ravioli, spaghetti & meatballs, stuffed green peppers--just to name a few. And, when it comes with an optional side of hot peppers, then you're really cookin'. This year we had so much fun enjoying the festivities with our good friends and new neighbors, John & Susan and their family Kirsten & Nate. Kdee had a blast being able to spend so much fun time with her good friend, Kirsten, and ribB and I had fun catching up with John & Susan. On Saturday morning, we enjoyed the parade with them as well, and there was enough candy collected to last us all a few months. Yum!

After the Pepperfest parade, we headed up north to the family cabin for our last "mini" vacation of the year. We stayed until Tuesday afternoon, and had a great time relaxing in the beautiful weather. ribB's parents were with us for most of the time, and it was a treat to get so much alone time with them. The kids really had a great time playing with them. We had some nice campfires (complete with smores), star-gazing with telescopes, fishing, swimming, jet skiing (including Kdee getting towed on a raft behind it and little B still wanting to "go!" faster), eagle watching...you name it, we enjoyed it! We also had some time with our Uncle/Aunt Bart & Donna (&family, and friends), which is always nice, too.

And now, a bit of back-tracking...The weekend before Pepperfest was supposed to be a chilled out weekend at home. ribB was on call, which requires him to be within a certain distance to our home County, so normally that means we don't have too many adventures. Ahhh, but not this weekend! Some of our many fun moments included: a trip to a local County fair--a first for the kids (highlights were going into the animal barns, especially the horse barn where little B had eyes the size of saucers and clung to ribB; doing the tilt-a-whirl with Kdee, watching a juggler, enjoying a $2 freshly made shake at the dairy "bar"). Our little friend (and Kdee's future husband :-) Evan stayed over night after the fair. He and Kdee played and played. How is it that some friends just click so naturally? They just have so much fun, and we enjoyed getting to see how much Evan has grown over the summer. On Sunday, we got a nice call from Bart/Donna with an invite to meet them out for dinner. What a treat! We had fun catching up and watching little B throw items with amazing accuracy and speed down the table, as well as the "eyes" little B gives when he's been scolded. Bart/Donna and family laughed and laughed over the way little B would stare us down and even point back at us. Yep, we might have our hands full as he quickly approaches the "terrible" 2's & 3's.

Kdee starts school right after Labor Day, which she is very excited about. Strangely, we don't know who her teacher is yet. We received our usual packet of information in the mail a few weeks back, but her teacher was marked as "TBD". When we did registration last week, her Principal confirmed to us that the previous teacher had to relocate and that they were working hard on hiring a new teacher. She hoped to have someone hired by last Friday, so hopefully we'll learn who this special person is soon! Today is her last day of "backpackers" the summer program she's been going to, and next week Kdee will be spending time with ribB's parents at their home. We are SOOOO grateful for their help during a time we'd have to really scramble for daycare (as we've used up most of our time off for other days without daycare). For me, I'm SO excited to be almost done with packing lunches and making breakfasts each morning. Boy, those things can make mornings even more hectic at our house. We're also looking forward to morning drop offs/pick-ups that are closer to home and across the street from little B's daycare. What a breeze it will be! Last night we did some back-to-school shopping, which was fun. If you haven't bought back to school supplies in a while, you'd be surprised at all the things you have to get for school. Everything goes into a "community pot" per se, so you get very specific instructions on what to buy...right down to the type of pencils and classroom kleenex.

little B has been growing and growing lately. He is talking up a storm--really trying to communicate and learn words for everything. This age is a lot of fun...his personality is really shining through and he's becoming a more capable boy. Given that he's a big boy, it shouldn't surprise us that he now opens our pantry door and starts rummaging for food. This usually happens when we first get home and he's ready to "EAT!". He's still obsessed with deer (and does say "eat" many times when he sees one), and has also been enjoying Elmo lately (whom he doesn't want to eat). His eyes were saucers this morning when he played with a flashlight in a darkened room. He just thought that was amazing. He also got new shoes the other day and thought those were pretty great as well. He walked around showing ribB and Kdee his new "shooos". He still has blond hair and blue eyes, and a very BIG grin. He continues to amaze us with his throwing ability (speed and accuracy!), as well as his uncanny ability to fall on his head when bending over. Gracefulness might not be his strong suit just yet--this big body requires some growing into!

ribB is counting down the days for bow season (deer)...ahh, the next 3 months will bring lots of hunting and trips up north for him. The rest of us will probably join him for a few weekends, but not all. Needless to say, I'm very excited once Thanksgiving rolls around and life returns a bit more to "normal", but it is fun to see ribB enjoy his hobby so much.

I know I'm forgetting some things, but fear not...I'm sure I'll include them in future entries. Enjoy the weekend everyone!

Pictures from Pepperfest! (in no particular order):
1) Kdee and Kirsten with beads and excitement for fun at the fest grounds!
2) little B officially peppered
3) me with my good friend Susan
4) the girls officially "vulcanized" by the infamous SP Winter Carnival Vulcans--remember the days when they used to smug you cheek to cheek? Now they just write a "V" on your cheek...much less scary!

Get ready for hot peppers and ravioli...

That's right--it's almost time for Pepperfest, one of the ribclan's favorite times of year. For those of you unfamiliar to Pepperfest, it's the annual celebration in our "village". It's a very fun time--lots of homemade Italian food (yum, yum and more yum), hot peppers (there's a big hot pepper eating contest that draws teams from around the state; the trick is to swallow them whole...yikes...) and a great parade. So, you may be asking how a largely Germanic/Scandinavian part of the world has an Italian celebration...well, it appears that the northern part of our city was founded by Italian families. God bless 'em, I love this festival!
The parade starts up the street from our house, so if you want to enjoy a fun morning/afternoon of parade fun, then get in touch with us and we'll be glad to save you a spot. The fest runs Aug 18-20...come hungry and ready for fun!

Lancaster La La

How lucky are we? Very. This past weekend the Ribclan family ventured down to southern WI for a now-annual reunion with dear college friends (many of whom were Resident Assistants with ribB). Folks fly into the state from LA and CA, and those of us "locals" make the scenic 4.5 hr drive to our friend's parent's house to reconnect for the weekend. I can't even begin to gush my gratitude for friends like the ones we have in this group. They are each amazing and interesting, and I always leave the weekends inspired, relaxed and just happy. As I get older, I find it's quite rare to have friends that you've known since your wild youth. Sometimes living through life's lessons can make your ability to maintain friends hard--so these friendships are all the more a blessing. Each night we managed to stay up until at least 1am laughing, crying and playing games with silly names like "Whonuit". I love that I still learn new things about each of these special people when we're together. I also love that when my children throw frustrating tantrums, they don't judge but rather support me/us with a knowing smile and sentiment (like, "it'll be my kids next!"). I love that we each have different, yet similar, backgrounds that allow us to mesh while providing unique insights for the many fun and complex conversations that we're known to have. Many thanks to Becky's parents for kindly opening their house up to this fun-loving group of people, patiently enduring our late-night ruckuses. Their house is so beautiful, so accommodating it's really a retreat for us. And those acres of groomed gardens and trails...amazing. To all these friends, I admire each of you deeply and am grateful to know you. We can't wait to see you again!

During our drive home, we stopped at ribB's parents home to visit and allow the kids some running time. 4.5 hrs in a car is a long time for an adult, let alone highly energetic children. We had a nice time unwinding and playing with our nieces/nephew who were at their house until their mom (Christina) joined us later. ribB's parents were very gracious to be so flexible with our schedule, it was an enjoyable time.

Our week has been a good one. little B's caregiver is off on vacation this week, so ribB and I have been taking time off to play with him. Grandma Honey also came on Wednesday for most of the day, which was great. I think little B has been loving all the one-to-one time with each of us, and has been in such great spirits. He has been very enthusiastic about clocks (even to the point of running every 15 minutes to Grandma & Grandpa's grandfather clock to hear it chime when we were at their house). Listening to him yell, "GOCK!!!", for every clock he sees is pretty funny.

Kdee has been going through a major growth spurt, complete with lots of sleeping, eating and meltdowns--the classic 3 "warning" signs of a growth spurt. We have had some fun conversations lately, including the one about her and a friend deciding they are going to start doing chores in order to save money for a trip to Disneyworld...or at least a playdate. Supposedly, the chores are happening now on Saturdays...but I'm not holding my breath!

Murphy's Law has struck our vehicles=both breakdown or require major repairs at the same time. The worse of the two is ribB's Jeep which wouldn't even start on Monday. We've since found out that the problem is the computer...eek. We'll see what happens now. My car got a flat tire during the fun weekend, which was easily plugged, but is also ready for new CV joints. Hmm. What next?

The food column I'm writing officially made it's debut on Friday, much to Chef Jim's delight. His 13 year old daughter skeptically asked him if he wrote it and told him, "Dad, you're a pretty good cook, but not this good of a writer.". Ah, kids. We also did some great press release mailings that got a lot of buzz almost immediately, and within a day Chef Jim was scheduled for a radio and TV appearance (with other interviews coming the day after that). Needless to say, my co-worker and I are so excited that he's getting the attention he well deserves, and that our hard work is paying off. (If you're in the mood for garlic, you should head over to the Bayport Cookery...the grand tasting menu consists of 9 courses that incorporate garlic, right down to the ice cream with the dessert. See the menu at: www.bayportcookery.com.)

As I always say, it's almost the weekend...such a perfect time to enjoy all of the summer fun!

Pictures:
1) College friends & families (t-shirts courtesy of Mike/Kelly--thanks guys!)
2) College friends acting normal (please disregard my typical "goofy" face...yikes!)
3) Better Homes & Gardens, our retreat spot thanks to Becky's parents