Joanna Imm: I never expected that Governor Dayton would be the person to give me the best birthday present this year: the day off from school on the coldest day in 20 years. Also, happy birthday to M Sharmila de Silva, Marissa Matsumoto and Kirsten Partenheimer, three lovely ladies who I've had the pleasure of sharing my birthday with over the years.
Abigail Karels: Happy Birthday, Donald Ristad, Joanna Imm, Kirsten Partenheimer, and Marissa Matsumoto! I hope your day has been as bright as the weather is legendary.
January 27
-40 windchill doesn't even phase me anymore. Didn't even bother pre-warming the car. But I still appreciate heated seats!
February 11
Chris and I are expecting our third child, this one from China! We hope to bring him home (yup, most likely a him) by the end of 2014/early 2015. The next couple of months (or more) will be a big waiting game as we await a match. No matter how much longer we have yet in the adoption process, we are thrilled about what the future will bring.
February 13
Started the morning at 5:30 a.m. when I discovered a malfunctioned waterline to our refrigerator flooded our kitchen floor. Amazingly, I was able to clean everything before the kids woke up. The best part is our kitchen floor has never looked so clean since it's now been mopped twice in three days.
February 15
Made it to LA where it's 70 degrees! I don't even know what to do with this weather. Too bad we won't get to enjoy it since our flight to Sacramento leaves in an hour.
February 21
Super thankful for Christopher Chesla who's been happily keeping our sidewalks and driveway clear since the snow first started coming down. I haven't had to lift a shovel once this storm.
February 27
I've heard already heard a couple of these pre-adoption and I naively thought no one would actually make these comments to a child. As the future mom of a child who will probably be a boy, I could add a couple more to this list...."I thought they only hate girls in China...or...I thought they only gave away their girls." http://shine.yahoo.com/…/kim-kelly-wagner-photo-series-girl…
March 1
Alice Seuffert: Workout and waffles.— with Jamie Smith and Kirsten Partenheimer.
March 7
Went to watch Andy Chesla's bonspiel, where Chris coached Oliver to announce, "It looks like your drinking team has a curling problem." Awesome.
March 13
"Look mama, grass!" (Said Oliver as he pointed to the brown grass peaking out from the receding snow.) You'd be excited too about something you haven't seen since early December.
March 15
Ice caves at the Apostle Islands National Seashore — in Bayfield, Wisconsin.
I love reading the sheriff's reports for small town newspapers. Of particular interest in Bayfield and Ashland Counties last week - six cows wandered onto a roadway and their owner had to be contacted to come get them; police investigated two occupied vehicles after hours at Meyer's Beach and found people sleeping and "they appeared to be dressed appropriately"; and my favorite, "caller stated he saw an eight-to-nine-foot male covered in hair waking along the side of the highway. Officer reported no Sasquatch or anything resembling one was located."
March 17
Happy St. Patrick's Day St. Paulites!
March 23
Meghan Filbrandt Brown: Last day of boot camp--sad to see it end, but so proud of the women who stuck it out! We saw some amazing fitness and strength gains. I'm going to call out Kirsten Partenheimer for holding a plank for 4+ minutes! New session starts in 3 weeks, PM me if interested!
March 25
St.
Paul-area folks: If you love cooking, want to solve the question of
what to feed your family each night and want to meet other families in
the area, join us for our April meal exchange on Saturday, April 5 from 9
- 10 a.m. at Immanuel Lutheran Church in St. Paul. Bring six
family-size freezer meals to swap and bring home six delicious, homemade
meals for minimal-prep dinners later in the month. Message me if
you're interested and I can answer questions and send you the
invitation.
— with Alice Seuffert.
— with Alice Seuffert.
April 5
I have four free tickets for the Minneapolis Remodeling Expo, taking
place today and tomorrow. If you go, stop by booth #132 and say hi to
Minnesota Housing!
April 20
Rouzbeh Amini: I think that you guys need one of this for the cabin:
http://www.vipukirves.fi/english/description.htm
June 17
Somehow I missed the memo that there would be TV cameras at our meal exchange tonight, (for a Twin Cities Live segment) or I would have showered after the gym today. My 15 minutes of fame might be a disheveled-looking one.
June 26
In the game of "I love you more than...," Oliver wanted to make sure I loved him more than my flowers. Then he assured me he loves me more than pirate treasure. I'm one loved mom!
June 28
I'll be at Twin Cities Pride this weekend with Minnesota Housing. Stop by booth B022 to say hello!
June 30
Alice Seuffert: Fun video from Twin Cities Live featuring our June meal exchange! Thanks to everyone who has participated in the meal exchange the last 4 years. We've had so many great meals, built a community and saved countless hours meal planning! Let me know if you'd like to join a future exchange. If you'd like to start up your own, here is information about our monthly exchange: http://diningwithalice.com/mealexchange/
July 3
Well, Scott Partenheimer, you were just handed Uncle of the Year on a silver platter. Andy Chesla brought gifts for the boys when he came back from vacation in Colorado - fire starters! As a bonus, one package included small, really sharp and pointy metal sticks.
July 6
It's the first night the boys are sharing a room and I've only had to go up there three times. I won't claim victory on the room-sharing until they've actually fallen asleep.
July 7
Canning experts out there...making strawberry jam and the top layer is setting, but everything underneath is still rather soupy. I've already tried resetting it and after making a mess of the kitchen, I'm just canning it and hoping for the best. At least my kitchen smells yummy.
July 14
I see blue sky, so why is it still raining directly above our house, the one with only half a roof and a tarp with big holes covering it?
Liula Bey:
July 28
With our house under renovation, there are plenty of places we could stash a time capsule for a future family to come upon the next time this old house needs to be gutted. What would you suggest we put in it?
July 31
Our neighbor's house in the West 7th neighborhood is finally for sale! (After being vacant nearly four years.) It's a fixer-upper for sure, but with three bedrooms up, a functional layout, great neighbors and schools, this could be a wonderful family home for someone interested in renovating.
August 14
Writing thank you letters to all of Oliver and Soren's teachers at daycare. It's so hard to convey how much we appreciate what they do!
August 24
Twin Cities soccer players - Does anyone know of a coed or mens team looking for a mid-fielder for the fall? Our au pair arrived last week from Germany and would love to find a team to play on.
August 26
I wish I could have bottled up Oliver's excitement about turning five today. After going to Shoots and Ladders, bringing cookies for his preschool classmates, choosing what we ate for dinner (tacos) and receiving his first ever Legos and a Transformer for birthday gifts, he declared today the best day ever. I don't know if I've ever seen him so happy. The wonderful part is that at age five, he's going to experience many more "best days ever".
October 4
Thanks Dawn Puroway, Monica Wimpee Digre and Carrie Henning-Smith for an awesome race this morning! It was so much fun to run with you guys. And a big, big thank you to Christopher Chesla, Oliver, Soren, Drew, Noelle, William, Jeff, Leyla, Leif, Jeff and Miles for coming out on a chilly morning to cheer for their moms and wives.
Dawn Puroway: A great morning for running my 2nd 5K race!
http://www.vipukirves.fi/english/description.htm
June 17
Somehow I missed the memo that there would be TV cameras at our meal exchange tonight, (for a Twin Cities Live segment) or I would have showered after the gym today. My 15 minutes of fame might be a disheveled-looking one.
June 26
In the game of "I love you more than...," Oliver wanted to make sure I loved him more than my flowers. Then he assured me he loves me more than pirate treasure. I'm one loved mom!
June 28
I'll be at Twin Cities Pride this weekend with Minnesota Housing. Stop by booth B022 to say hello!
June 30
Alice Seuffert: Fun video from Twin Cities Live featuring our June meal exchange! Thanks to everyone who has participated in the meal exchange the last 4 years. We've had so many great meals, built a community and saved countless hours meal planning! Let me know if you'd like to join a future exchange. If you'd like to start up your own, here is information about our monthly exchange: http://diningwithalice.com/mealexchange/
July 3
Well, Scott Partenheimer, you were just handed Uncle of the Year on a silver platter. Andy Chesla brought gifts for the boys when he came back from vacation in Colorado - fire starters! As a bonus, one package included small, really sharp and pointy metal sticks.
July 6
It's the first night the boys are sharing a room and I've only had to go up there three times. I won't claim victory on the room-sharing until they've actually fallen asleep.
July 7
Canning experts out there...making strawberry jam and the top layer is setting, but everything underneath is still rather soupy. I've already tried resetting it and after making a mess of the kitchen, I'm just canning it and hoping for the best. At least my kitchen smells yummy.
July 14
I see blue sky, so why is it still raining directly above our house, the one with only half a roof and a tarp with big holes covering it?
Liula Bey:
Thanks for making my Sunday happier! Kirsten Partenheimer
July 28
With our house under renovation, there are plenty of places we could stash a time capsule for a future family to come upon the next time this old house needs to be gutted. What would you suggest we put in it?
July 31
Our neighbor's house in the West 7th neighborhood is finally for sale! (After being vacant nearly four years.) It's a fixer-upper for sure, but with three bedrooms up, a functional layout, great neighbors and schools, this could be a wonderful family home for someone interested in renovating.
August 14
Writing thank you letters to all of Oliver and Soren's teachers at daycare. It's so hard to convey how much we appreciate what they do!
August 24
Twin Cities soccer players - Does anyone know of a coed or mens team looking for a mid-fielder for the fall? Our au pair arrived last week from Germany and would love to find a team to play on.
August 26
My
gosh, it's hard to believe that my brother and sister-in-law are
parents! Baby Neale finally made his debut into this world late this
morning. To paraphrase my brother, "I've done a lot of crazy things in
my life, but wow, that was crazy. And all I did was sit there." To
which I responded, "Welcome to parenthood. It'll continue to be a crazy
ride." — with Scott Partenheimer and Stevie Neale.
September 6
September 10
The kids are already talking about Halloween. Does anyone have a size 3T firefighter costume or 5T vampire costume I could buy from you?
September 14
September 29September 6
My almost three-year-old is getting too big for the baby swing!— in Saint Paul, Minnesota.
Chris
promised me no one was going to fall off a ladder, and so far so good
in the rip-two-layers-of-siding-off-the-house-ourselves project.
September 10
The kids are already talking about Halloween. Does anyone have a size 3T firefighter costume or 5T vampire costume I could buy from you?
September 14
Chris
and Marcel partake in a Hanover specialty - a shot of beer and a shot
of vodka in two separate glasses and downed at the same time.
— with Marcel Lücke and Christopher Chesla.
— with Marcel Lücke and Christopher Chesla.
I wish I could have bottled up Oliver's excitement about turning five today. After going to Shoots and Ladders, bringing cookies for his preschool classmates, choosing what we ate for dinner (tacos) and receiving his first ever Legos and a Transformer for birthday gifts, he declared today the best day ever. I don't know if I've ever seen him so happy. The wonderful part is that at age five, he's going to experience many more "best days ever".
October 4
Thanks Dawn Puroway, Monica Wimpee Digre and Carrie Henning-Smith for an awesome race this morning! It was so much fun to run with you guys. And a big, big thank you to Christopher Chesla, Oliver, Soren, Drew, Noelle, William, Jeff, Leyla, Leif, Jeff and Miles for coming out on a chilly morning to cheer for their moms and wives.
Dawn Puroway: A great morning for running my 2nd 5K race!
October 9
Happy 23rd birthday to our wonderful au pair! Much love from Oliver, Soren, Chris and Kirsten
— with Marcel Lücke.
Happy 23rd birthday to our wonderful au pair! Much love from Oliver, Soren, Chris and Kirsten
— with Marcel Lücke.
October 26
I thought perhaps Watson would want a friend. Much to Christopher Chesla's relief, I did not come home with a dog.
October 31
Happy Halloween from Minnesota Housing.
Happy Halloween from Minnesota Housing.
November 1
China Said Yes! Oliver and Soren are getting a new brother and sister!
Sometime early next year, Chris and I will travel to China to bring home
our new son and daughter. We are overjoyed and nervous all at the same
time about becoming a family of six.
November 10
Hello Minnesota from a slightly more tropical locale.
November 11
It's about time. A little bit of Maine finally coming to Minnesota.
It's about time. A little bit of Maine finally coming to Minnesota.
November 13
To help our au pair survive his first Minnesota winter, I'm looking for a
pair of mens snow boots (size 9 or 9.5) winter hats, gloves, etc. If
anyone has used outdoor gear they're willing to sell, please let me
know. Thanks!
November 15
My freezer is full of sweet potato and black bean enchiladas, curried
pumpkin soup, buttermilk pancakes with strawberry sauce (perfect for our
"pancake Wednesday" breakfast-for-dinner night), personal pizzas with
goat cheese, veggies and honey and a huge tray of an all-American Tator
Tot Hotdish. I love our St. Paul Meal Exchange!
November 26
And this was the pre-Thanksgiving Day dinner..I'm exhausted, but it was worth it to get all these Chesla cousins together.
November 28
I'm filling out some important visa paperwork on behalf of my two
children in China and the National Visa Center spelled my first name
wrong. KM Bub or Kirsten Van Rybroek, want to guess what name they came up with?
December 9
Staying up way too late preparing last-minute meals for our St. Paul
Meal Exchange was worth it because as I was leaving for work and had no
idea what to make for dinner tonight, I reached into my freezer and
pulled out Curried Pumpkin Peanut Soup and Butter Chicken and Naan.
Problem solved.
December 17
Does anyone in St. Paul or Minneapolis have ice skates we could borrow
this weekend? Or do you know where we can rent them?We're looking for
women's size 7.5 and men's size 9 skates. Thanks!
December 25
Merry
Christmas to all, but especially to Kiera and Matt waiting for us in
China. Looking forward to hanging two more stockings next year!
December 27
On
Inge's last day in the States, Minnesota pulled through with a fresh
blanket of snow and a much-welcomed dose of sunshine. With a skate on
Lake of the Isles before heading to the airport, she finally got to see
the Minnesota I love so dearly. Safe travels Inge, and you're welcome
back any time!— with Ingrid Lücke.
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