My Beautiful Days

This summer we've been ... Drawing on the sidewalks ... Chasing snapping turtles out of our garage ... Giving Colin the freedom to dress himself ... Giggling as we catch our babysitter (Claire) asleep with Ethan ... Changed lots and lots of diapers ... Gone shopping (yes, that sign behind me actually IS accurate!) ... Played with Ethan in a box ... Dressed up for church ... Snuggled with our brothers ... Hosted dinner parties galore ... Participated in lots and lots of goofyness ... And got caught loving on my honey! It's certainly been a busy summer in our house!  How is your summer going?

I'm starting a new feature on my blog which I'm titling "A Peek Into My Home".  You see, there are so many aspects about my home that I just love and I want to be able to share these places with you.  So, grab a cup of coffee and enjoy some time with me as we begin a tour of my home, starting with our balcony. Right off of our master bedroom are these beautiful french doors that lead out to a private retreat where Ethan is happily playing! Ethan also enjoys seeing his reflection in the glass of the french doors! :) There are two chairs and a table out there, as to sit and enjoy the view of the lake and the sounds of the woods while sipping on a beverage of choice. One side of our balcony is empty, holding limitless possibilities as to what to put there (perhaps a comfortable chaise lounge?!). The balcony is a haven, a place to relax with friends or family ... or (for our boys) to be shirtless, just like dad! The reason that my first home feature is my balcony...

I often wonder what goes through people's minds in relation to the shopping carts that they use.  Yesterday was a prime example of why I am so curious.  Claire, Ethan and I went to Costco to pick up some much needed groceries.  Upon arriving, we parked at the end of the parking lot - entirely because someone had abandoned their cart there and I decided we were going to use it. I got out of the truck and grabbed the cart, only to realize that whomever had previously used it decided that it was a good trash can and left behind muffin wrappers, a plastic spoon and a leaf of some sort (which I'm guessing is from some produce that was purchased).  Ew.  So, I picked it all up and handed it to Claire to hold for a minute while I loaded Ethan and all of his gear into the cart.  I took the trash back from her and we proceeded into the store (where I stopped at the trash can right outside of the store and deposited said trash). We did our shopping and all went we...

To say that this has been an eventful beginning to our vacation is COMPLETELY an understatement.  It has been crazy!  This past Friday, we packed up our stuff in the Suburban, gave our garage door opener to our house-sitter and headed down the road toward our vacation destination: Dent, MN (in case you weren't aware, Dent is a truly podink little town not far from the podink little town where I grew up). Actually, that isn't completely true.  On Friday, we headed to my mom's house in Ottertail, then on Sunday we came to our vacation destination in Dent.  I stand self-corrected. Regardless, between Friday and now things have been crazy.  We have gone to my grandma's 89th birthday party, done a lot of fishing and swimming in the lake, I went to Detroit Lakes and had my hair done by a long time friend (and I really love it!), we've prepared, eaten and cleaned up from meals, spent time talking and playing cards, and took one very scary trip to the Emergency Room...

Hurry hurry hurry!  Today is the last day to enter to win the $100 gift card to Dick's Sporting Goods (giveaway sponsored by BlogHer and Dick's Sporting Goods).  Go to my review blog to enter before it's too late!!

I just finished my book review of Terry McMillian's "Getting to Happy".  Make sure to visit my review here and tell me what you think!

It feels like it has been a very long journey, but in reality it lasted only a mere month before we received our answer.  My darling baby boy is now fever free, and I'm still having a hard time believing the cause.  According to blood tests that were done, Ethan has a "very severe peanut allergy" (those words being a direct quote from his doctor).  I couldn't fathom how a peanut allergy could be causing his fevers, especially considering the fact that he isn't old enough to eat anything but baby food! Once we took extreme steps to contain the peanuts in our home (those steps being making sure that the counter is wiped down each and every time my kids make a peanut butter sandwich on them, making sure that the kids wash their hands and brush their teeth any time they eat peanut butter, making sure we only wipe Ethan with clean paper towels instead of a wash rag, etc), his fevers have gone away completely!  I found it really hard to believe, and really hard to gra...

Do you ever shop here? (Image courtesy of Google Images) We shop at Dick's Sporting Goods a lot ... I mean a LOT a lot.  What could make your shopping experience even better?  How about a $100 Visa Gift Card (good for anywhere that Visa is accepted, including Dick's Sporting Goods!).  BlogHer and Dick's Sporting Goods have teamed up to give away this gift card.  Visit my review blog to enter!

This past weekend was a really really LONG one.  You see, my husband was out of town on a fishing trip with some of his guy friends.  This left me home alone with five fabulous kids (which I truly am not complaining about - I gave Monte the go-ahead to schedule the trip!). The catch?  My baby is STILL sick.  It all started almost three weeks ago.  He was running a low-grade fever at his six-month appointment, so he never got his vaccinations.  The problem is that the low-grade fevers have not stopped.  I think, of the past three weeks, he has had a total of 36 hours of being fever-free.  It has been a hard road for my little guy and for his mama!  So, on Friday, I made an appointment to have him seen at his doctor's office yet again.  Talk about hard appointments to get through, this one was the worst!  They had to use a catheter on him to collect a urine sample (which he did NOT like one bit!).  They also had to draw some bl...

We love sporting goods stores.  I'm not kidding, we love them.  Whether we're looking for equipment for softball, soccer or baseball, or just searching out some new fishing gear, we always have a great time in a sporting goods store! You can, too!  BlogHer and Gatorade are sponsoring a giveaway on my review blog.  The prize?  A $100 Gift Card to Dick's Sporting Goods.  I think we could all use a little more sports equipment in our lives! Don't wait, visit my review blog to enter!!