tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1432578730230065712011-04-21T22:00:34.009-05:00Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07247660360192041412noreply@blogger.comBlogger781100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-143257873023006571.post-55415689606004774532009-04-19T13:43:00.002-05:002009-04-19T13:49:55.331-05:00

Grant was born at 8:01 AM on Tuesday, April 7th. He weighed 7 lbs. 9.5 oz, and was 20 inches long. He's a growing boy - we're not sure how big he is now, but we have a checkup on Tuesday.

Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07247660360192041412noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-143257873023006571.post-28140954432571256632009-03-22T19:48:00.002-05:002009-03-22T19:52:38.246-05:00

I am still here, and am still alive. It just seems that sometimes there's really nothing noteworthy to report. I'm still pregnant - I'm having a cesarean on April 7th - just a little over two weeks away. We still don't have a name for this poor boy, though Reed keeps suggesting naming him Mater. I guess we've watched Cars too many times. My doctor has cut my work schedule back to half-days,

Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07247660360192041412noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-143257873023006571.post-37316098280382758172009-02-12T16:40:00.001-06:002009-02-12T16:40:40.783-06:00

Mid-February, and I’ve dropped the ball again. Life progresses as usual here. We had a thaw a few days ago, and it rained – RAINED – and melted some of our snow. I was not sad to see it go, because it was getting gray and ugly. Of course, the gray and ugly remains, but at least it’s another reminder that spring will come, eventually.The first winter I lived in Minnesota – twelve years ago – I

Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07247660360192041412noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-143257873023006571.post-53261003218595564842009-01-14T18:08:00.004-06:002009-01-14T18:17:51.471-06:00

So yesterday, I picked Reed up at daycare and was pulled aside by his teacher, Dee. She said, "You should ask Reed what he's been building with Legos."Me: Reed, what are you building with Legos?Reed: Lightsabers.Dee: What else are you building, Reed?Reed: Nuffin'Me: Reed...Dee: Reed, did you build a gun out of Legos today? And did you run around shooting your friends?Me: *sob*So yeah, he's

Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07247660360192041412noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-143257873023006571.post-22380250051925523922009-01-04T10:17:00.001-06:002009-01-04T10:18:51.118-06:00

"can cats die from eating too much Scotch tape" and ended up on my blog page. If you're out there, please raise your hand. And let me know if cats can indeed die from eating too much Scotch tape.

Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07247660360192041412noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-143257873023006571.post-89405628899269141062009-01-03T19:14:00.006-06:002009-01-03T20:44:58.497-06:00

it's been a while since I posted an actual update. I don't really have an excuse. Less daylight and cold temperatures that keep me from getting outside when we do actually have daylight are putting me in a funk. I'm sitting here watching it snow right now - we already had 10+ on the ground, and are not going to get what we were initially forecasted to get, but damn, I'm already tired of snow and

Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07247660360192041412noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-143257873023006571.post-89707330826047927272008-12-20T08:02:00.002-06:002008-12-20T08:04:49.600-06:00

Visit Emilie and send her thoughts of love and peace.  

Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07247660360192041412noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-143257873023006571.post-46137224085518140552008-11-27T09:11:00.002-06:002008-11-27T09:14:15.293-06:00

These Mateus babies have no qualms about showing their goods.  The first image we saw yesterday during the ultrasound was this:

Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07247660360192041412noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-143257873023006571.post-6128338266198425462008-11-25T17:15:00.001-06:002008-11-25T17:16:55.296-06:00

1. Ultrasound tomorrow. Hopefully we'll figure out what flavor we're having.2. Day two of underwear at daycare = only one accident. We're going to do something to celebrate tonight.3. I am on the verge of killing two cats. If you want to save them (aka take them from me), please let me know.

Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07247660360192041412noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-143257873023006571.post-63343167022595390022008-11-23T17:05:00.006-06:002008-11-23T17:45:35.182-06:00

Mainly because I can't manage a very long train of thought these days.We've been working on potty-training boot camp (our version) this weekend. So far, only one accident. Aside from about three hours this afternoon (and overnights - not ready to tackle that yet), Reed's been in the house and in underwear all weekend.This week is going to be rough - Reed's favorite (and our favorite, too) teacher

Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07247660360192041412noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-143257873023006571.post-30469938213813961532008-11-17T15:50:00.002-06:002008-11-17T19:30:22.023-06:00

- The way that when you ask Reed a question, and he answers you in the affirmative, he says "s-ure" - not "shure" like you and I would say - he can't quite pronounce his "sh" sounds yet.Fun stories from daycare -The first story:Reed recently had his first trip to the dentist. He went with Alex, and the hygienist cleaned Alex's teeth first, and then it was Reed's turn. He was not incredibly

Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07247660360192041412noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-143257873023006571.post-56406714778660091732008-10-18T11:41:00.002-05:002008-10-18T11:55:56.474-05:00

Things have been busy - life is just getting in the way of time to jot things down.Last Friday (10/10) was Reed's fourth birthday. How we managed to let four years fly by is beyond me, but they certainly have been the best four of my life. My parents were here for a visit, and we had a birthday party for his friends last Saturday. The weather was perfect, and we really couldn't have asked for

Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07247660360192041412noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-143257873023006571.post-74067771064730433622008-09-11T20:08:00.002-05:002008-09-11T20:11:34.193-05:00

I haven't gotten around to posting these - but we've been done for probably six weeks now. We still stand in there and marvel at the fact that all of that storage and counter space is for real.

Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07247660360192041412noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-143257873023006571.post-66512897229195998932008-09-11T19:36:00.004-05:002008-09-11T19:44:09.736-05:00

Reed loves to jump in puddles - I mean, who wouldn't love it, really? Click the photos for a larger view.And a bonus shot of our house.

Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07247660360192041412noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-143257873023006571.post-75093145815638075072008-09-07T19:46:00.002-05:002008-09-07T19:58:35.314-05:00

The Pacifier -Reed has slept with a pacifier for-freaking-ever. When we moved to Hutchinson from Austin, his new daycare wouldn't allow him to have it all day long (like he did in Austin) so he tapered off then to just nighttime use (and has used it at night for the past almost-two-years. To me, it wasn't a battle worth fighting - I figured as long as he was only using it at night (and not even

Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07247660360192041412noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-143257873023006571.post-62457222310007946932008-09-07T19:06:00.002-05:002008-09-07T19:14:31.943-05:00

that I made reference to my pregnancy in a previous post. I wasn't holding out on you; I just wanted to see the heartbeat before I shared with the world. Since we saw a strong little heartbeat on an ultrasound last week, I am now ready to announce to the world that Reed is going to be a big brother, sometime in April. My due date is April 14, but I am 99.99% certain that I will go for the

Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07247660360192041412noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-143257873023006571.post-28801416943289537072008-09-07T18:02:00.004-05:002008-09-07T19:03:15.155-05:00

One of my favorite pages on the web is the Passive-Aggressive Notes page. It's always got something awesome that is cracking me up at any given time. When you combine Facebook *and* PAN, it just gets freaking awesome, as is evidenced here.While I don't have anything that exciting going on in my Facebook world right now, what I do have is, well, interesting. You see, I have this Ex. And I mean

Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07247660360192041412noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-143257873023006571.post-91093969627776327372008-08-30T17:20:00.003-05:002008-08-30T17:28:27.004-05:00

It's not that there's nothing to write about; it's more like there's too much to write about and a lot of stuff that I'm not willing to share with all of cyberspace. Things here are great for the most part. The kitchen rocks my socks. I can't believe that our tile backsplash turned out as well as it did. It's really a work of art. Okay, that's an exaggeration, but I am very proud of our work

Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07247660360192041412noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-143257873023006571.post-47500940180064071582008-08-23T12:26:00.002-05:002008-08-23T12:28:29.847-05:00

We had a front pass through last night, and when I woke up this morning, Alex had all the downstairs windows open. It was 59 degrees at 8 AM, and now at 12:30 it is only 64. It must be a wonderful day to be at the State Fair. The only sad part about this change in the weather is that earlier today, I saw a tree that has already started to change colors. After four years in Texas (where there

Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07247660360192041412noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-143257873023006571.post-77304492094527446162008-08-19T08:27:00.000-05:002008-08-19T08:28:20.398-05:00

I'm having writers block. Nothing in my life right now seems interesting enough to jot down.We got our backsplash installed two weekends ago, and we got the grout put up (in?) this past weekend. I am totally in love with it and with how it makes our kitchen look. One negative, I'm afraid - Alex was cooking dinner last night and got a grease splatter on the backsplash above the stove - and I

Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07247660360192041412noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-143257873023006571.post-13646963773793355922008-08-02T09:30:00.003-05:002008-08-02T09:38:25.255-05:00

For the last two-and-a-half-years (I'm guessing here), Reed has been all about the Little Einsteins. I think it's been that long; I know he was obsessed with them before we left Texas. He's still obsessed. For his birthday last year he got a Pat Pat Rocket that he still plays with very often. In fact, he gets PPR out every time he watches an episode of LE on TV, which is multiple times daily

Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07247660360192041412noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-143257873023006571.post-6515648697140798972008-07-28T09:02:00.001-05:002008-07-28T09:03:33.919-05:00

Guess who woke up with a 102* fever this morning? No, not me...

Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07247660360192041412noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-143257873023006571.post-68223768971964480172008-07-27T18:11:00.002-05:002008-07-27T18:20:16.273-05:00

Last Saturday morning, with a couple of my coworkers' assistance, Alex managed to dismantle the kitchen cabinets in a matter of hours.The original kitchen, circa 1949, was small and sparse. Original cabinetsThe first piece coming down...And how we've been surviving for the past week:Tomorrow we will lose the sink for a few days, since the plumber will come to cap the lines and get it moved out

Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07247660360192041412noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-143257873023006571.post-55720592004756288742008-07-27T17:45:00.002-05:002008-07-27T18:00:28.962-05:00

Once again, Sunday afternoon rolls around. It's been a lazy day for the most part, doing laundry and trying to stay cool. We've had electricians here this afternoon working on the kitchen, so staying out of their way has also been key.As I'm sitting here watching Peter Pan with Reed, I'm beginning the dread of going back to work tomorrow. This is a struggle I have every weekend - I will have

Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07247660360192041412noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-143257873023006571.post-62966589242785038472008-07-25T15:06:00.000-05:002008-07-25T15:07:23.954-05:00

Reed was acting up in daycare on Thursday - it was time to clean up and he didn't want to. Dee, his teacher, said "Reed, if you don't help clean up, you won't get your snack. If you don't get your snack, your tummy will be hungry." She said he looked down at his belly and said "Are ya hungry?" He looked back up at Dee and she said "Well...what did you decide?" to which he responded "we're

Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07247660360192041412noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-143257873023006571.post-18986951323641217872008-07-17T19:01:00.003-05:002008-07-17T20:14:33.027-05:00

It started out okay - I slept decent last night, and Reed was in a relatively good mood this morning. It's Thursday and I'm taking tomorrow afternoon off to be home for the new refrigerator delivery and the service technician for the stove. I drove to the cities this morning with my friend and coworker Denise, so we could look at a piece of equipment that our management is looking at bringing

Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07247660360192041412noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-143257873023006571.post-31457492497757341682008-07-13T20:56:00.002-05:002008-07-13T20:59:37.907-05:00

Even though Reed is rapidly approaching his fourth birthday, I forget that he's not a baby anymore and find some of the things he says and does so amusing. He's so profound sometimes, and so silly others. I'm sure that these are not nearly as entertaining to anyone else as they are to me; I'm mostly trying to document them for later, when he will see how funny it must have been to hear his

Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07247660360192041412noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-143257873023006571.post-47496817362623654232008-07-06T21:38:00.003-05:002008-07-06T21:43:42.890-05:00

I came downstairs this morning (it was my morning to sleep in, yay!) and Reed greeted me with what he called a maraca. It was, in all actuality, a plastic Easter egg with, you guessed it, dry Lucky Charms inside. Gotta give him points for creativity.I also figured out this weekend that I should probably get him in Sunday School or at least find him a book of bible stories. He has decided that

Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07247660360192041412noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-143257873023006571.post-10070522570853634282008-07-03T18:54:00.003-05:002008-07-03T19:13:52.525-05:00

I'm done with Ebay. Well, with selling on Ebay, anyway.If you recall my sewing machine saga from a few months ago, I ended up emailing Singer to tell them that I was not impressed with their machine and that I thought it was silly to make a machine that breaks easily and can't be repaired. They offered to replace the machine, so I let them. I got the new machine (the Singer; I'd already

Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07247660360192041412noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-143257873023006571.post-28786501039600869522008-07-03T18:31:00.003-05:002008-07-03T19:48:55.936-05:00

Facebook Bingo is highly addicting. I got an invitation for it last night, and can't stop playing. I keep spamming my friends list to earn more cards. I feel like a drug addict, anticipating my next fix.I tried so hard to take a nap today and couldn't. Too much noise. Levi (the doxie next door) was so yappy, and then when Alex returned from his lunch outing in St. Cloud, he decided to skip

Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07247660360192041412noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-143257873023006571.post-72037603447682101132008-06-30T20:02:00.003-05:002008-06-30T20:06:34.924-05:00

I am sitting on the couch with my laptop. My husband thinks that I am working. I will let him continue to think that.Has anyone used WordPress for blogging? I am interested in switching to some other platform, simply because I'd like to limit readers to some entries. Believe it or not, there are things in my life that I'd like to blog about that I don't need the whole world knowing. For

Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07247660360192041412noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-143257873023006571.post-48276564007563301232008-06-25T15:56:00.005-05:002008-06-25T16:14:47.777-05:00

I am having motivational issues. At work and in general. The weather is nice, I want to be outside. I want to go pick strawberries. I want to go home and take a nap. I want to paint my bedroom, and I want to get started painting all of my woodwork. I want to be anywhere but here, really.I'm very excited that some girls from my sorority in college are planning a reunion in October. It won't be an

Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07247660360192041412noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-143257873023006571.post-38126823007404169772008-06-25T15:15:00.003-05:002008-06-25T15:26:36.571-05:00

After looking for Little People on ebay, I started searching for more toys that we had at my house growing up. I forgot how awesome some of these were (and forgot that I even had some of them, until I saw them on ebay and had an "oh yeah..." moment).The "TV" - wind it up, it plays music and the screen changes - it loops through some nursery rhymes.The music-box record player. I loved this thing.

Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07247660360192041412noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-143257873023006571.post-40142817613120968862008-06-24T19:53:00.003-05:002008-06-24T21:46:17.930-05:00

Yes, I have one, if I do say so myself, but this isn't about him.I filmed Reed being a ham over the weekend (using my cool Flip camera, Surly!) and emailed the clip to some family members. I got an email back from my Aunt Linda, mother of Ladybird and Cosmo (actually, Cosmo's grandmother, now that I think about it...). She commented on Reed's performance and also about my recent entry on

Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07247660360192041412noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-143257873023006571.post-143381741360856302008-06-21T09:43:00.003-05:002008-06-21T09:59:54.994-05:00

Reed has recently taken a new interest in my old Fisher-Price Little People. Not the Little People of today, but the ones from the 70s that are no longer made because they could be choking hazards. FWIW, I never choked on one of them, and I’m still not sure how that could happen, but whatever.His new interest in these guys has made me nostalgic for the toys of my childhood. I’ve spent a great

Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07247660360192041412noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-143257873023006571.post-21677748121483611032008-06-12T08:09:00.001-05:002008-06-12T08:09:42.894-05:00

I always see rainbows at times that I really need cheering up. My primary example - the day of my grandmother's funeral, while we were standing at her graveside after the funeral - it had been raining all day, but finally cleared up and the sun started to come out, and we all looked up and saw a rainbow. Maybe it was her, maybe it was coincidence; who cares because we all decided it was her

Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07247660360192041412noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-143257873023006571.post-20141582745287831672008-06-05T16:06:00.010-05:002008-06-05T16:36:18.338-05:00

You know how the last hour of the workday just drags on sometimes? That's what's happening here right now. I have a massage in an hour (hallelujah), but it makes no sense to leave here, go home and piddle around for a while before I go to my massage. And people who really know me might say, "hey, this is your BIG chance to go to Target WITHOUT Reed," but I would have to point out that our weather

Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07247660360192041412noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-143257873023006571.post-40241435112582981772008-06-04T10:07:00.005-05:002008-06-04T16:20:13.248-05:00

After some moping and crying, I'm feeling slightly better about the situation I shared on Monday. I know that everything happens for a reason and that mine will come, but it makes the "meantime" seem so long and sad.We're slated for some combination of clouds, rain, and storms for the entire week. Not looking forward to that - I need sunlight. It would surely improve my mood.

Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07247660360192041412noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-143257873023006571.post-82225887418839043912008-06-02T15:25:00.000-05:002008-06-02T15:26:13.905-05:00

I'm not going to get into all the details of this story for multiple reasons, but I just found out that a friend of mine is getting something wonderful. She absolutely deserves it - I don't begrudge her that - but I'm still waiting for something similar, and it's just really bumming me out right now. I seriously want to go home and crawl in bed and cry, but that makes me look like a bad sport,

Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07247660360192041412noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-143257873023006571.post-48564586879733386542008-06-02T09:14:00.000-05:002008-06-02T09:15:09.653-05:00

Back in the office today, a ton of stuff to do but none of it is interesting.I got home from my conference on Friday afternoon, just in time to go pick up Reed from daycare. He had a great day on Friday (which was a good thing, because apparently he was headbutting his best friend on Thursday). We had a nice weekend - lots of yardwork and planting flowers, digging up old stuff that wasn't working

Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07247660360192041412noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-143257873023006571.post-60760053901910099272008-05-29T12:46:00.000-05:002008-05-29T12:48:04.097-05:00

Today is day two of me being out of town at a conference. I'm only an hour and a half from home, but it might as well be a million miles away. I'm staying in St. Paul rather than driving back and forth - if I had to do that, I probably would have bailed on it. Professional development isn't worth that mind-numbing drive.Alex is having a rough time with Reed. I don't know if Reed's recent

Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07247660360192041412noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-143257873023006571.post-47318591348808740112008-05-27T11:27:00.000-05:002008-05-27T11:28:40.004-05:00

My child is lazy. I am coming to terms with that, and it sucks.Maybe he's not lazy; maybe he's just trying to manipulate. Regardless, it sucks. He wants to be carried everywhere. Up the stairs at home. Down the stairs. From the car into daycare. From the car into the house. And most recently, from the house to the Dairy Queen. Important note - we live six mere blocks away from the DQ.Saturday

Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07247660360192041412noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-143257873023006571.post-58296900826707327372008-05-25T10:41:00.006-05:002008-05-25T10:58:35.784-05:00

Betseeee posted an entry on her blog about being invited to join an organization of professionals in her field, and feeling a bit of a yearning to be out and about with this group. For those of you who don't know, she's been busy freelancing and raising her two O'Girlies.I have a few thoughts that ran through my head after reading this entry. First, I envy her ability to freelance - I work in a

Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07247660360192041412noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-143257873023006571.post-52953963985459788632008-05-25T09:53:00.004-05:002008-05-25T10:19:04.885-05:00

Day two of the three-day-weekend, and Reed is already just about maxxed out at home. He's a wild man, can't seem to settle down, and has decided that he will just walk out the back door whenever he wants to. This has made us (me and Alex) much more diligent about making sure the back gate is locked, so if he does manage to sneak out without our knowledge (hasn't happened yet), he can't go far.We

Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07247660360192041412noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-143257873023006571.post-11052334021090224102008-05-23T14:59:00.002-05:002008-05-23T15:18:57.282-05:00

I haven't posted anything lately because it seems like such an effort to come up with anything worth typing. I've been busy, but nothing noteworthy.Earlier this week, we had a conference with Reed's speech and hard-of-hearing teacher, Deb. The long and short of it is that based on his most recent audiogram (earlier this month), if we were to have him evaluated for the first time now, he

Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07247660360192041412noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-143257873023006571.post-20290275009624242062008-05-17T09:20:00.004-05:002008-05-18T13:32:42.147-05:00

It never fails. Monday through Friday, it's damn near impossible to drag Reed out of bed in the mornings. He's grumpy (wonder where he get's that from?) and doesn't want to get up, even when we talk up "school" and all of his friends. But come Saturday morning, he's up at 6:15, ready to play.And because I'm totally swamped both at home and at work (and sit here playing around on the laptop; go

Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07247660360192041412noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-143257873023006571.post-7833542177381856162008-05-14T20:27:00.003-05:002008-05-14T20:32:45.499-05:00

I had an entry all sketched out in my head, and then I got an email from a close friend who lives in New Jersey.  I used to work with her, and I visit with her every time we go to visit my in-laws.  In this email, she told me that a very dear woman with whom we used to work passed away last week.  Diane had been fighting lymphoma for years - eight years that I know of, and probably before that.  

Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07247660360192041412noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-143257873023006571.post-83225644049561690182008-05-09T07:46:00.004-05:002008-05-09T09:46:28.560-05:00

I know I'm not alone when I say thank GOD it's Friday. This week has been long and busy with way too much time spent sitting in front of my computer. The weather this weekend is supposed to be crappy, which probably kills Alex's plans for a Mother's Day picnic. We went to brunch last year, and it was nice but overpriced, crowded and not a load of fun. He proposed going on a picnic this year, and

Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07247660360192041412noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-143257873023006571.post-89295175699766268362008-05-07T08:33:00.003-05:002008-05-07T08:48:13.769-05:00

One of my coworkers came in here a few minutes ago (to see if I wanted to be in on her BPA-free water bottle order), and we started complaining to each other about what a long week this is turning out to be. At first I thought it was because the weather has finally turned springish here in Minnesota and I'm stuck inside working, but the more I think about it, my plate is full and I'm just on

Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07247660360192041412noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-143257873023006571.post-56806068799736339792008-05-04T19:52:00.002-05:002008-05-04T19:55:05.925-05:00

hell. Really and truly. I am laughing at my child's mishaps. As a disclaimer, I only laugh about this now because he's fine, and was totally fine about 30 seconds after this happened.Alex had to go into work today, so Reed and I went to the playground. He was on the swings, and I was pushing him. I kept asking him if he was holding on tight, and he said yes. He wanted to go higher, so I

Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07247660360192041412noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-143257873023006571.post-44313787010775952672008-05-04T14:04:00.003-05:002008-05-04T14:14:39.435-05:00

The Derby party was a success. The garage sale was less successful. Reed's nap today is proving to be a failure.Can't win 'em all, right?First things first. The Derby party was awesome. Everyone had a good time, the food (especially the Benedictine) was a huge hit, many mint juleps were partaken of, and the pies are almost gone. We agreed that we will do it again next year - this year was a

Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07247660360192041412noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-143257873023006571.post-75010120720721913152008-05-02T09:22:00.002-05:002008-05-02T09:39:14.768-05:00

Today is day one of the city-wide garage sale. I am sitting in my garage, freezing my ass off. I am seriously contemplating closing up and going inside. It is 43 degrees. In May.Our neighbor in the alley (she lives right behind us), Fran, stopped by and chatted for a while. She's a really neat lady. I have no idea how old she is, but I'm guessing late 70s. Very independent. She was

Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07247660360192041412noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-143257873023006571.post-44138927879527645072008-04-29T08:04:00.000-05:002008-04-29T08:05:26.148-05:00

for the name change. I'm just test-driving a possible new name.

Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07247660360192041412noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-143257873023006571.post-88516747580939914382008-04-28T19:48:00.001-05:002008-04-29T08:04:13.736-05:00

This morning, Reed told Alex that his (Alex's) truck was crying. Alex asked him why, and he said that the truck was crying because Mommy's car goes fast. I guess the truck has performance anxiety.

Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07247660360192041412noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-143257873023006571.post-52273393205664043262008-04-27T17:35:00.003-05:002008-04-27T18:07:02.409-05:00

I was trying to get Reed upstairs this morning so he could get dressed, and was following him up our steep stairs. He was three (steep) steps in front of me, and quickly turned around and launched himself onto me. Rather than bringing us both down the stairs on my back, I caught him. In the process of this, I wanked my back. My lower back. I thought it was okay, but as the day has progressed, I'm

Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07247660360192041412noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-143257873023006571.post-9721565301074688322008-04-21T20:31:00.008-05:002008-04-21T20:47:16.601-05:00

The problem with a 2GB memory card is that you never need to download.Indoor camping: Happy boy: He's got the giggles.

Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07247660360192041412noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-143257873023006571.post-11842555653748229852008-04-21T08:01:00.005-05:002008-04-21T20:31:00.994-05:00

A couple months ago, I was getting ready to put Reed in the tub when he asked for some bubbles. I poured some of the J&J lavendar baby bath in the tub, and he had a ball playing with the bubbles. After a few minutes, he started doing a Pac-Man motion with his hand, "eating" the bubbles. I asked him what he was doing, and he held his hand up and made it talk, saying "hi Mommy, my name is Hand-Hand

Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07247660360192041412noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-143257873023006571.post-36931115099856984832008-04-18T11:13:00.003-05:002008-04-18T11:27:49.675-05:00

I'm in a really weird place right now. I don't know how to explain it, other than it's mostly me and not really anything that anyone else has responsibility for.I've been dealing with anxiety and depression issues for 15 years. I feel like the anxiety is under control, but I question how well I'm dealing with the depression. The drug advertisements ask a bunch of questions about things like

Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07247660360192041412noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-143257873023006571.post-68785146720450776872008-04-17T14:57:00.001-05:002008-04-17T15:06:18.451-05:00

We are planning a Kentucky Derby party to be held on May 3rd. Today is April 17th. Alex has a list of things that he wants to do between now and then (get our patio drawn out, get Reed a swingset and get it put together - since we will have plenty of kiddos at the party...); cleaning the house, and getting some stuff put in storage to free up more space for the party.That's not even counting my

Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07247660360192041412noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-143257873023006571.post-19151040873606640742008-04-15T07:51:00.002-05:002008-04-15T18:41:41.942-05:00

and life is good in Minnesota. When I left work this afternoon, the car's thermometer read 70. My friend Tara told me a while back that nobody appreciates spring more than Minnesotans, and I am beginning to believe her. I have to keep pushing aside the thought that it has been spring in Texas for-freaking-ever.

Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07247660360192041412noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-143257873023006571.post-68094696983596647372008-04-09T14:09:00.002-05:002008-04-09T14:13:05.000-05:00

So after Reed's fun with the "cave" the other night, Alex remembered that we have a tent that we got for him at Ikea last year. It's not very big - maybe 4' square - but it's a tent nonetheless. We set it up in his room, and he made us all get inside (so it's big enough for the three of us, minus my legs which were hanging out the door...). We sat there for a few minutes and talked about the

Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07247660360192041412noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-143257873023006571.post-4993875515513508172008-04-07T15:11:00.001-05:002008-04-07T15:12:13.944-05:00

I was changing the sheets on our bed last night, and Reed was in our room nosing around in nightstand drawers. In a move to try to distract him and redirect him to something else, I used our quilt to make a tent for him, but he decided it was a cave. He immediately ran to get his flashlight (which always has dead batteries so he took my booklight instead) and called it his "cave."We crouched down

Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07247660360192041412noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-143257873023006571.post-6302409269493499932008-04-02T20:18:00.004-05:002008-04-03T08:06:17.550-05:00

Though I haven't lived in Kentucky for almost twelve years, it's still home. To many people who call Kentucky home (with the exception of my cousin Clay, who is a DUKE fan, of all things. I'm working on disowning him), University of Kentucky basketball is a religion. Royal blue and white are the colors of royalty. It's almost as hot of a topic as this year's Democratic nomination - except instead

Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07247660360192041412noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-143257873023006571.post-57077971236609460632008-03-31T20:05:00.003-05:002008-04-09T21:27:46.322-05:00

So you know how Gmail has those little blurbs that appear right above your inbox (I think the proper name is "web clip") with links to news topics or interesting websites or whatever ? I'm checking my email tonight and see something about Jagbomb and Minneapolis. I think, eh, I'm close to Minneapolis, maybe it's a new restaurant or something neat to check out some weekend when we have a sitter,

Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07247660360192041412noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-143257873023006571.post-76639492167025652202008-03-29T13:44:00.003-05:002008-03-29T13:57:12.353-05:00

After a truly hellish week at work that ended with an oil spill on the roof (late Friday afternoon, no less), we were all happy to greet the weekend. There were weather forecasts that included the words "sunshine" and "mid-40s," which is as close to perfect as I can expect right now. This is Minnesota, after all. The part of the weather forecast that I missed was "windy." Our big plans to go fly

Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07247660360192041412noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-143257873023006571.post-59014004750803966012008-03-24T10:25:00.001-05:002008-03-24T10:26:54.065-05:00

Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07247660360192041412noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-143257873023006571.post-63492579775348350972008-03-20T19:39:00.000-05:002008-03-20T19:46:10.355-05:00

The trip to visit the inlaws went much better than expected. I'm sure that's largely in part to the fact that I had extremely low expectations. I also realized that what I hate the most about going to visit isn't the actual visit itself; it's the act of getting there. Parking the car at the airport, taking the tram to check in, fighting with Reed about the stroller/escalator/elevator/whatever

Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07247660360192041412noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-143257873023006571.post-79385609672806671782008-03-13T06:44:00.000-05:002008-03-13T06:45:44.836-05:00

Parked behind a Chevy pickup at daycare - he looks at the tailgate and says:"C-H-E-V-R-O-L-E-T - that spells trwuck."

Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07247660360192041412noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-143257873023006571.post-63609915274537778132008-03-13T06:29:00.000-05:002008-03-13T06:42:19.695-05:00

In a few hours, we will be leaving to go to visit my inlaws in New Jersey.  We are flying into JFK, which is normally utter chaos, but also saves us a ton of money.  Since Alex knows NYC like the back of his hand, I don't complain too much when he suggests flying into JFK rather than Newark.  I can totally handle Newark on my own - but that's more my turf than his, you know?So anyway, we're

Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07247660360192041412noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-143257873023006571.post-32515819546849886722008-03-08T08:40:00.001-06:002008-03-08T21:55:24.333-06:00

"They" say that this is going to be the last of the really cold weather. I'm hesitant to believe this mysterious "they" because I've been tricked into relaxing, only to be sharply awakened by negative temperatures. It was -9 yesterday on my way to work.We have a gentleman arriving in less than an hour to tell us how much it would cost us to install custom kitchen cabinets. Alex calls it a "

Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07247660360192041412noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-143257873023006571.post-83539981431549849992008-03-02T09:36:00.001-06:002008-03-02T09:40:31.560-06:00

For some reason, my patience this morning is really thin. Reed has already been in Time Out once, and is working on another visit. He tries to help me type on my laptop, and when I remind him that the computer is off limits, he acts like a little smartass, smirks at me, and slowly moves his index finger towards the computer. The cats are just all over the place, trying to climb on top of every

Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07247660360192041412noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-143257873023006571.post-78060510119229047642008-03-01T10:49:00.000-06:002008-03-01T10:52:23.057-06:00

Spring is allegedly on it's way. Or so they say. The sun is out today, which is a major improvement over earlier this week, but it's still cold - hence my skepticism. It snowed two more inches on Thursday, which is just enough to muck things up.In the meantime, Alex is so antsy for warm weather that he keeps firing up the grill. It's almost as if he believes that the more he grills, the sooner

Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07247660360192041412noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-143257873023006571.post-16450947781705987742008-02-24T14:59:00.000-06:002008-02-24T15:00:27.556-06:00

You hear strains of classical music and immediately start singing the lyrics that the Little Einstein kids sing to that same tune...

Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07247660360192041412noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-143257873023006571.post-36294436702477945812008-02-24T09:21:00.000-06:002008-02-24T09:26:08.811-06:00

One of our New Year's resolutions was to find a church and start attending on a regular basis. We are now almost through February, and we have not even started looking for a church. I am really selfish with my Sunday mornings. I am admittedly lazy and like to sit around and drink coffee and read the newspaper. I also like to go back to bed, because I'm usually the one who Reed wants to get up

Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07247660360192041412noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-143257873023006571.post-11046155735118557962008-02-21T09:41:00.000-06:002008-02-24T09:43:05.413-06:00

Supermarket = "shopping house"Dairy Queen = "ice cream house"

Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07247660360192041412noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-143257873023006571.post-69179289358398820152008-02-20T08:16:00.000-06:002008-02-24T09:41:35.614-06:00

Saturday afternoon, we went to get Reed's haircut. We just take him to Great Clips, because they do a decent job and because I don't want to take him to my hoity-toity salon and let him create chaos in that calm, spa-like environment. Background: Reed hates having his haircut. He has had one haircut in his life that he has not cried, screamed, or yelled through, and that was at Cost Cutters in

Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07247660360192041412noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-143257873023006571.post-17310697635557415422008-02-16T08:54:00.000-06:002008-02-16T08:59:38.589-06:00

None of us slept well Thursday night. I don't really know why; I think I probably slept too much Thursday afternoon when I came home from work, but I'm not sure what Alex and Reed's deals were. I slept fine last night, but at 5:55 am, my three year old decided that he was ready to get up. Rather than bugging Daddy, he walked the extra 15 steps around to *my* side of the bed to wake me up. I

Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07247660360192041412noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-143257873023006571.post-78864326523958367302008-02-13T19:45:00.000-06:002008-02-13T19:50:54.429-06:00

So a little over a year ago, we left nice, warm, Austin Texas to move to Minnesota. It was a great job opportunity for me, and turned out to be a great move for Alex as well. As you might have guessed, the winters in Texas and Minnesota are very, very different. VERY different. So far this winter, I have fallen and probably cracked my tailbone, and our entire family was sick for a good month.

Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07247660360192041412noreply@blogger.com0