Remembering Marlys

10 years ago Tuesday my mom became a person of our memories. She was a mom, wife, sister, aunt, daughter, friend and neighbor. She was good at those things. They defined her (well... and her lawn too...) She never got to be a grandma, but she has a lovely little name-sake of sorts.

I woke up on Memorial Day Monday in our quiet bedroom. Mark was at work for a few hours. My heart was leading/pulling me to the cemetery. I called Mark, and of course he agreed we should go. My Dad had given his church's alter flowers in memory of Marlys on Sunday, so we picked them up and headed west to Hector.

It was a beautiful drive. We tried to explain and show Marly her almost name on the stone. I tried to show the kids their history and heritage as we strolled through the cemetery from one Melberg headstone to the next, and on to the Nelson's (and my Uncle Jon). It was a tough go on the family tree with out my Dad or Aunt Carol... but we will return again.

On Tuesday (June 1st, the day my mom died), Daycare Cindy had an additional day off. Mark and I enjoyed our kids. We took them on a bike ride (we have the pull behind trailer) and picnic.

When everyone else was napping in the afternoon, I dropped off my mom's sewing machine for a tune up. This seemed fitting, for all the memories that sewing machine holds for me. The elderly shop owner opened the case and said, "This is a GOOD Machine." I always remember my mom telling me her New Home machine was NOT fancy, or expensive, but it worked well and she liked it. On Thursday I am taking a beginners sewing class at Jo Anne Fabrics. Indeed, my mom tried to teach me to sew when I was in high school. I didn't pay attention. Surely my mom could just sew whatever I needed.

Today, I want to learn for myself. Today I will remember the lime green shorts with elastic which was my 'learn to sew' project all those years ago. (Except my mom ended up sewing them for me!) Today I also remember all the dresses my mom sewed me, and so many other things.

Memories....

Rambling about Choices

There are so many choices each of us need to make every day. They are not overwhelming choices. They will not have a profound effect on our lives next year (or even two weeks from now) but just the same, choices weigh on each of us. There is cause and effect to even the small, daily choices we pick.

Recently I was invited to join the board of a small non-profit. I decided to accept. I am excited to serve and share of my talents and time. Last week I attended my first monthly meeting on Tuesday evening. Making this choice is making the choice to take some "after work" time away from my family. I was knowledgable of this when I said "yes" to the board. I remain happy with my decision. That decision also means I did not put my kids to bed last Tuesday, nor did I pick up around the house.

Thursday night I made a choice to go to a MN Bloggers Gathering/Happy Hour. I RSVP'd several weeks in advance. Later, some good girl friends decided to get together the same evening. I made a choice to go with the original Blogger event, to meet new people, and connect with bloggers. I made a choice to be away from my home again, and to chose networking over investing in my current friendships.

Saturday I made a choice to stay home most of the day. Originally, I thought I would make the choice to attend my friend Molly's garage sale fundraiser to help fight hunger. Or I thought I might choose to stop by my friend Jenny's house, who recently had her second child. But, because I had chosen to be away from my kids several nights last week, my son indicated he wanted to be AT HOME with his mom!

Early in the week, Mark and I made a choice to have our friend Mike and his girlfriend to dinner on Saturday. Then God made a choice to send the rain mid-morning on Saturday. This made the decision to stay home (thus not supporting two friends) easier. It made the dinner that night great, because I had time to clean the house, shop, and prepare for the festivities.

Sunday I made a choice to attend two cousin's graduation receptions in Olivia. This choice was made much easier by my Aunt Toot's who was willing to drive out with me (and Marly and Dean). I made this choice the night before. It turned out to be a great choice too.

I am constantly wondering... Am I making the right choice? Time plays a constant role. The truth is - at this stage in my life, I find some of my better choices made on a short time line, rather then advanced.

Anyway, I have no real point - other then to declare with kids, careers, husbands, families, homes, and whatever might be important to you... each of us needs to find the right fit in our hearts to best invest of ourselves.

Sometimes even the little decisions are tough to make!

Where I will be tonight...

Tonight I am going to a MN Blogger's Get Together.

Click HERE to find out more.

I am a little bit embarrassed to attend, as I don't have many readers, I still have "blogspot" in my blog address, I have no sponsors, and no one would ever want to give away anything on my site...AND I DON'T EVEN HAVE A CUSTOMIZED HEADER.

But, I am going anyway and suspect I will enjoy it. I also suspect I may have many recommendations on where to get a header made up.

A Weekend with Kelly

This past weekend, Kelly had a re-do weekend with the Twinners. She arrived on Friday afternoon, Mark no sooner then attached the last latch on the car seats, and Dean was yanking on Kelly's arm, demanding, "Let's GO Kelly!"

Clearly our children have NO detachment issues. Marly didn't even feel a need to hug Daddy goodbye!
The kids played at the park, played on their trikes and made a trip to Como Zoo. Dean was expecting the Polar Bears to be back... but he will have to wait until June.

Truly, the kids love their Auntie Kelly. It is clear their bond from her time as a nanny remains strong.

Thank you Kelly for taking the kids. She brought them back on Sunday morning, all smiles!

While the kids were away, Mark and I enjoyed a cocktail at Maverick's, went to the movie "Date Night", went to breakfast at Fat Nat's, worked on our yard, had dinner with my family at 20-21, and then did our grocery/Costco run before the kids returned.

Happy Anniversary to our House!

We signed on our house a year ago May 15th! For an anniversary gift, the house received new house numbers. We feel they better reflect our style. (bench cushion & painted terra cotta pots still to come for added curb appeal and comfort!)

We moved into a 1970's split level with new flooring, a newly remodeled kitchen and updated bathrooms, but we have made tons of cosmetic changes to add to that. (YES... we mostly knew what we were getting into when we bought this house. We EXPECTED to spend lots of our time and elbow grease to make it look like US.)

• We had our trees professionally trimmed. (Now we pray we don't lose 4 of them to Dutch Elm disease)
• We cleaned up, cut back and removed overgrown shrubbery. (We needed the tree company to remove all of our mess, the pile became so large!)
• We had energy efficient entry and storm doors installed. Our upstairs french door glass was so fragile, toddler Dean cracked a pane our second week there, so it was also unsafe. Mark changed out the door bell button to complete the look.
• Mark has painted every room in the house except the two downstairs bedrooms, and a back stairway we keep forgetting about.
• He painted the unfinished banisters white.
• He painted all of the downstairs trim work white to match the upstairs.
• We have changed out (or painted) the lower level hardware, door handles, fireplace front, etc. to match the brushed nickel upstairs.
• We have made "temporary fix" roof repairs, but need to address more serious issues. (Okay.. we didn't expect that when we bought the home)
• We had our microwave removed from an overloaded electrical circuit. My kids were beginning to think microwaves ONLY work in the dark. (No, we didn't expect that either). The fine electrician (my co-workers kind and talented husband) also wired our bedrooms for overhead lights, which we will install someday.
• We have had a tub faucet repaired after it blew off, probably due to a corner cutting remodel. Then we addressed a leaky drain in the same tub, which caused basement ceiling damage. (Nope, not expected... but damn glad we got a home warranty.)
• I installed shelving in our bedroom closet.
• Mark installed new panel doors (with foam inside) upstairs. He accidentally punched a hole in one hollow door, and another actually FELL OFF because it had not been reattached correctly when the former owner removed it to paint. I think those doors are on sale more weeks then not at Menard's.
• Mark changed out the outside patio light to match the front door.
• We have dumped TONS of chemicals and fertilizer on our lawn, and had it aerated. (So sorry to all our our ecologically minded readers who might be opposed to our lawn maintenance...
• We added new house numbers.
• Mark planted a few lilacs and arborvitae along our property line.
• We have added some perennials to various beds around our yard.
• Naturally, we have decorated, and I have all these little DIY projects all over our home.

Our list of "To Do" projects always stays the same length somehow....so we will see what the next year brings!

Me and My Wedding Rings

My wedding rings have been too large for four years. Yesterday I was driving right by the small family-owned jeweler on Grand Avenue that created my band, so I stopped in to get an estimate to re-size them. The same two ladies I have encountered the past 7 years were on hand to help.

I showed the lady my rings and she got out the sizers. Of course, like any good shop owner, she complimented me on the lovely and clever wedding ring designs and their beauty.

She asked, "How long have you been married?" - "Seven years now I think. "

She asked, "Did you lose weight, and that's why you need to re-size?" - "Sure... like FOUR years ago! I kept meaning to come in. I was here about three years ago and you guy's put a "temporary fix" on them..."

The woman congratulated me. (Yes, we all know I put on a lot of pounds in the years after my mom died, my metabolism changed, and I got married.)

I went on to explain - "I lost weight, then got pregnant. I didn't re-size them then because I was unsure what weight I would gain or return too. Well... then I breast feed the twins for a year, and lost even more weight, but I really didn't think I would ever stay that size. (God what I wouldn't give for that tiny waste and legs and GENEROUS cup size again!!!! No I did NOT say that outloud.) But...my twin's are three now. So, I thought I should do something about it before I lose them... and I was driving right by.. and thought I would come in. (I didn't tell her I had been at a Happy Hour gathering for a co-worker nearby.)

Anyway, we continued to chit chat. I prepared to leave and the woman said, "I will call you when we have an estimate. Congratulations again to you, and continued success!"

My response (after a pause) "... Thank you....Yes... I am glad I am still married and it worked well!"

She burst into laughter. She said, "I'm NOT congratulating you on your marriage working out! I'm congratulating you on your weight loss success. You dropped a pretty dramatic ring size."

OH! Yeah... That too.... (Maybe I shouldn't have eaten those onion rings at Happy Hour...)

Dancing with the Stars, Twinner Style!

On Monday, I tune in to 'Dancing with the Stars' NOT to watch the show... but to watch the Twinner's watch 'Dancing with the Stars'!

It's hilarious. If only I were good blogger who also added video. Please use your imagination to enhance these still photos.
Marly and Dean attempt to dance and watch simultaneously, then try to mimic what they see on screen.

Their conversation during this process is interesting to say the least, as they attempt to give each other direction on the next move.

Notice the TV screen image above, and Marly below.

Why should only the lady partner get to skid across the floor?

Not pictured, but they also break out into their own dance. Dean is a little hip shaker and Marly loves to twirl! You should have seen them dance to their favorite "Lady Ga Ga" two weeks ago. Next week I will remember to get out the video camera.

As the mother of toddler/preschool twins, I can tell you they are exactly what you would EXPECT twins to be in basically every sense.