Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Local

The coffers being what they were this Labor Day (refer to last post), we vowed to find a few local things to do, on the cheap, to round out our summer. What's cheaper, then cheaper then cheap? FREE. Enter the Como Zoo.

Here are the highlights of our first-ever trip with the Mae Moe.

Maci (points finger): "What's thaaat?"
Mama: "That's a giraffe."
Maci: "Puppy!"

Maci (points finger): "What's thaaat?"
Dada: "That's a tiger."
Maci: "Puppy!"

Maci (points finger): "What's thaaat?"
Mama: "That's a wolf."
Maci: "Puppy!"
Dada: "That's right! It IS a puppy!"

After a minor disagreement with some sunscreen, Maci was on the mend and we made our way through the zoo (which is practically in our backyard), followed up with a stroll through Como Town, a picnic lunch and then, we ended the perfect day with what quickly became my favorite memory with my daughter to date.





A few weeks prior, we had visited the Great Minnesota Get Together, and thanks to some rain and a tired toddler, we had to skip any sort of ride or giant-slide fun. So imagine my surprise and delight when we came across one the greatest, most nostalgic rides of all time, just a few paces from our picnic spot. For six quarters (Mae Mo was free), or in our case, a quick credit card swipe (yes, we charged $1.50 – who carries cash anymore?) I got to take my daughter on her very first carousal ride! She was a bit shy at first and did NOT want to sit on the horse by herself. She clung to that gold pole like her balance depended on it but by the end, she was petting the horses head, grinning from ear-to-ear and bouncing up and down on my lap. I couldn't stop smiling. Best Mama/Maci memory to date.


The only snafu, if you can call it one, is that I forced Shawn to snap some photos while we went around and around and around but I didn't set the camera up correctly before I gave it to him so everything came out pretty dark. The good news is, with some free Photoshop actions from The Pioneer Woman, I was able to salvage the above sentimental keeper and thanks to the carousal's close proximity, I know we'll be back again and again and again.







The following weekend, we visited the Minnehaha Falls for the first time. Actually, as Shawn put it, the Minnehaha Trickle. There was barely any water to speak of, but thankfully, the nearby parks and sites were enough to keep us entertained. I took the opportunity to test out the ol' camera. With the Stevens House and surrounding areas as my backdrop, I'd say we got a few good ones. Shawn even managed to get a couple of this Mama with her Maci, in focus mind you!










It's crazy how easily we forgot the shear volume of stuff there is to do around here, and stuff that doesn't break the bank. The Twin Cities, and Minnesota in general, are so beautiful. M-I-N-N-E-S-O-T-A… Minnesota, Minnesota, ehhhhh Gophers! Speaking of which, the Gopher football team is 3-0! Amazing what allowing a little alcohol into a stadium does for a team.

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Summer

I'll let the photos tell the tale of our summer 2012. Pretty sure we did it up right…

1. I took a trip to New York with the girls.



2. Shawn took his annual trip to Canada with the guys.




3. Maci turned one and had two birthday parties.





4. We visited the crazy cute Cornstuble cousins in Virginia.




 




5. Team DeBoer morphed into Team Camo and ran a 5K.



6. Shawn completed his Masters (degree, not golf). The man has, like, 18 degrees now. Congratulations Mr. DeBoer – SO stinking proud of you – now STOP going to school!

 
7. And finally, we played.





I couldn't have scripted a more perfect summer filled with firsts, family, friends, festivities and fun. Now bring on fall, football, er… fires… and… oh f*ck it. I'm out.

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Alternative

As I'm sure I've mentioned a million times before, I don't do baby books. I don't have that kind of time, I personally believe the expectations of such are unrealistic and… I'm a middle child. I had no such book and look, I turned out just fine. I do, however, journal and have journaled for years and years. Therefore, as an alternative to the guilt-stricken, obsessive-inducing, time-suck that is a baby book, I've been using this marvelous creation:

One Line a Day: A Five-Year Memory Book


Here's how it works:


Here's what it looks like:


Here's where you can get one:


I came upon this remarkable resource via the Woodruffs: friends, neighbors and my-kind-of parents. I was bitching whining one day about my failures as a mother (because I haven't been documenting the meager and milestone moments of Maci's life) and the very next day, Mike shows up at my door with this fascinating find. He prefaced it with the simplest of instructions: keep it by your bed. I have and I do and I write in it every single night before I go to sleep. It's life-changing. All I'm responsible for is one entry per day, six or seven micro lines of memories that I want etched in ink for all of eternity. How incredibly easy is that? Even the remnants of what's left of my brain can conquer that! Now Maci's life is documented daily in the thoughts and words of those that gave it to her. 

**

Images 1 and 3 are from here. Image 2 is from here. The amazon.com image is from amazon.com, obviously. 

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