One looks like me......

It has often been said that Katelyn looks a lot like me. I know....I'll say what you all are thinking...."Lucky Girl"...

But the littlest (at least 'til April) is the apple that didn't fall from the Mommy tree.


You be the judge:

Because one looks like mom, but both are lucky to have her in their life....I love my girls.

Katelyn's Day

It was her birthday. Every year my daughters get to spend their birthday with Mommy doing ANYTHING they want to do. Ashley went to the zoo with mommy...this year Katelyn started the day with sprinkle pancakes at Perkins.

She just ate them...and had to take a color break. Then it was off to the Mall of America for some rides.

Katelyn had a great time riding the rides. Why is Kelly not riding with her you ask? Well, they don't let pregnant women on the rides. That's right....we are expecting our third. The due date is April 12th. Sort of. The due date is a few days later, but the doctor performing the C-section is on vacation, so we are scheduled for the 12th. Kinda neat, because Kelly's grandma's birthday is on the 12th. Place your bets, but I am pretty sure it is a girl. Please feel free to submit your name choices.

After the rides, Katelyn had to take another coloring break.

She had a great time coloring the pig at the mall. She knows that pigs are mom's favorite animal.

Then, they ended the day with ice cream;

Katelyn had an AWESOME time. Thanks mommy for taking a day off to make your five year old so happy. When they got home, Katelyn got to open her birthday present, and immediately she went to work. She is five....and already I get to deal with;

So our third girl will have a good teacher when it comes to applying makeup as Katelyn is apparently an expert at five.

Katelyn also won a stuffed animal when playing that crane video game. You know, that one where you typically have to put in 73 dollars before you get the crane to actually pick up a stuffed animal my kid won on her first try.

Because when I asked her how she won the stuffed animal, my daughter shrugged her shoulders and said "huh....natural talent.."....I love my girls.

A Prayer of Thanks

I have been trying to get the kids ready to head back to Sunday school....so started asking them occasionally if they wanted to pray before we went to sleep. I have had limited success with this adventure....so I thought maybe if I made up a prayer....we could make it fun. I have yet to come up with a kid version prayer...but the following is what I came up with one night when thinking about what I would pray for:

A Prayer of Thanks

Before falling asleep I fold my hands, and get down on my knees
Suddenly I realize....most prayers begin with please

Please help my kids grow up healthy, wealthy, and wise
Please help me become a hero in their little eyes

Please surround me with a family providing unconditional love
Please help me in my faith, knowing you're up their above

Please help me to deal with the everyday stresses of life
Please help me be a good father to my kids, and husband to my wife

Since you have done all this for me, I am not sure where this ranks
But the purpose of this prayer, is simply to say thanks


Because when I asked the youngest one last night if she wanted to pray, she folded her hands and said "Jesus, thanks for the fish sticks and catsup"......I love my girls...

Sounds Worse Than It Is.....

So, I worked from home yesterday because both of my kids were diagnosed with "Hand, Foot, Mouth Disease".

This sounds horrible I know....but after a multitude of research I came to the conclusion that this is a very long term for "a cold".... but still no going to daycare.

As many people know, I lead recruiting efforts for a multinational fertilizer company. This occupation leads to many conversations across the nation.

My first conversation of the day was with a candidate from Texas for a sales role. It went as follows:

Me: Hi there Mark, how's it going?

Mark: Great, how are you?

Me: I am doing great, but working from home today as both of my kids were diagnosed with Hand, Foot, Mouth disease. I am not sure if you have ever heard of that?

Mark: Sure I have......in cattle........

(Side note here: Hand, foot, Mouth Disease can emulate itself in both humans and animals. Humans cannot carry the animal version, and animals cannot carry the human version).

Me: Ha ha, I know...the disease can be in both humans and animals..Thankfully, my kids have the human version

Mark: Yeah, that is good.....when my cattle had it.... I had to shoot them......


After a continued conversation around the offer I was presenting Mark for the sales role, I assured him that I would not be shooting my children :)

My day continued without incident....the kids were really okay...we built a fort with a couple of blankets and chairs (thanks dad for teaching me this skill) and the little ones watched a lot of Scooby as their dad had more conversations for work...

Because they survived a disease that sounds a lot like the Bubonic Plague, but in reality meant a couple of runny noses.....I love my girls.......

Could use more of these.....

Today it was somewhere between gorgeous and heavenly outside. 70 degrees and sunny with a slight breeze coming from the southwest. We had nothing on our plate this weekend except for gymnastics this morning. I could use more of these types of weekends.

The morning arrived, and we quickly came to realize that it was just too nice outside to go to gymnastics. Instead, we played outside. The television was off limits today and surprisingly the girls were okay with that. Dad decided that it was a great day to clean out the garage. So, promptly at 10AM, I removed EVERYTHING from the garage.

The girls thought this was great because that meant that all of their toys were accessible. I thought this was great because that meant I was finally going confirm that my garage floor was actually cement and not a mixture of dirt and grass. I used the leaf blower and created a dust storm to rival those in New Mexico when cleaning out my garage.

Mom thought this was great because with the girls outside with Daddy, she had some time to catch up on things inside the house, with an occasional break to catch up on her magazines while sitting outside in the sun with us.

We decided since the day was going so well that we should start potty training Ashley. We figured at almost three years of age, one should actually start to use the "big potty".

So, we explained to Ashley no short of 793 times that she was not going to wear diapers today. This meant that as soon as she had to go tinkle, she should let mommy or me know (so that we could take her to the bathroom...a fact you will soon see should not be assumed).

Things were going well, she was playing with the rocks outside, in her Capri pants wearing panties. About 30 minutes in, she stood up, looked at me and said "Daddy I need to go tinkle".... and then promptly peed down her leg. Smiling the whole time as I think she was proud that she followed our instructions to a tee....I mean she did tell me before she went potty.

Happy to report that the rest of the day went smoothly. We did resort back to pull ups when we went to 'Trista Day" as we know we are not quite out of the woods yet. Trista day is a celebration that Minnetrista has at city hall with all of the firetrucks and police cars and even a helicopter. Our guess was that the mayor of Minnetrista would not appreciate a two year old using the city's helicopter as a bathroom.....

Because one is trying her best, and the other let us know that if Ashley gets an M&M for using the potty that she should get one too......I love my girls....

Simple Mathematics......

232 Washers + 104 Nuts + 158 bolts + 1021 Screws + 366 Pieces of wood + 128 random parts =

It is done. Yes that is a bay window. The above is one view from my deck. For reminders, the following is a different view from my deck:

The above are real numbers. I added the parts list up.

Happy to have it done. Happier when the little ones start using it.

Because they made the day easy and gave mom lots of hugs on her day.....I love my girls.

They grow so fast......

So....many of my avid followers may remember this photo from a while back:

Well, that little pumpkin who in the above picture looks mad for having to eat lunch, has turned into a very thoughtful individual.

I mean, who else contemplates all of life's questions over a happy meal:

On a more exciting note: THE PLAYSET IS COMPLETE! My next blog will encapsulate photos as well the love hate relationship I now have with wood. Let it be known though, that I am participating in a presentation training for work in which I am to prepare a 5-7 minute presentation on the topic of my choice.



The title of my presentation: "How to Build a F*%$!!! Play System"



Because I know that they will, I mean BETTER, enjoy the swingset more than a Popsicle after dinner.....I love my girls....