Fall Fun

Marly is all girl and Dean is all boy for sure!

Dean loves to sit in my lap and have story time. He especially loves the touch and feel animal books. Also, it is a riot to watch him zoom around on his little red car toy. He zips one way, stops short, and turns quick to change direction. Occasionally he ambushes Marly. Marly prefers to push her lion rider toy.

Marly and Dean are truly becoming best friends! It is a delight to watch. I like to think I am not the type to go on and on about only my children, because all of our children out there are so special - But, since this is my 'scrap book,' I will say twins are proving to be a great deal of fun for Mark and me. They are so humorous these days as they explore together. Marly has on hand-me-down jeans in 12 M, Dean has on the same pair in 18 M (courtesy of the Johnson Twins). Oddly worked out well with Dean's 2 inches over Marly. When purchasing new clothes, I current buy everything in the same size for both, since girls run different then boys. That being said, Marly (as seen in these photos) often has on boy jeans (which rather upsets Mark).They fit better then the girl flared leg!

The good old days at Dayton's

When I was a little girl, shopping at Dayton's was 'special.' It meant a drive into the cities (Edina/Southdale) and new clothes at the department store. When I was in college, I worked at the St. Cloud Dayton's as gift wrapper. Here I learned what it meant to have pride in the place you worked and to uphold a certain standard. Our dress code was "three piece." This meant you had to have a top, bottom and third piece, which could include a jacket, sweater, scarf, or perhaps a distinct peice of jewelry. Believe me, an extraordinary amount of care went into wrapping a gift at Dayton's. If it was not perfect, it was not acceptable to give back to the customer. It was not unheard of to rip off the paper and start over on a gift wrap if the seams did not match perfectly. Would you like to know what a "double wrap" is??? This large item wrap takes actual skill!

When Dayton's became Marshall Fields, I grew to accept the change, mainly because as a consumer, I did NOT notice a change in quality or standard from the service or products available. I do believe even the bag color remained the deep forest green.

As we all know, Dayton's/Marshall Fields was bought out. It has now become just another big box national retailer named Macy's. The icon I remember is long gone. Also, I have noticed a distinct shift in quality and service. Yesterday was the perfect example. Mark, Marly, Dean and I went to purchase a bridal registry gift for Nanny Auntie Kelly for her shower next week. We selected a lovely item (Yes, I had a $10 off coupon from the big box retailer!), and headed back to customer service for the 'complimentary bridal wrap.' At Dayton's/Marshall Fields the bridal wrap was a standard white on white paper. The paper was very simple, but high in quality. The bow was also plain white, but again, the same quality as the paid wrap. Well - you can kiss the 'complimentary wrap' Good-Bye!

Now, the 'complimentary wrap' is nothing more then the standard white Macy's box with the logo across the top. This would be the same box you could get for ANY item you purchase in the store. Oh... but they will put a ribbon/bow around the box to cover the logo! My gift was already in a sturdy box from the manufacturer. Macy's did not have a white box that was an appropriate size for this box. I expressed my disappointment to the sales person. The poor, unsuspecting woman was from India and had only been employed at Macy's for two weeks. I assured her I was not upset with her personally, but rather Macy's as a company. She was so distressed by me and my remarks, she gave me a partial roll of the ribbon.... a LOT of ribbon, for me to use at home, since she had no 'complimentary' box to accommodate my gift! I swear, I was not a B-I-T- (you get the idea), although Mark may disagree. I swear I was VERY polite ( but pehaps terse and pronounced in my language and delivery) the entire time.

I miss Dayton's! My dad tells me the Midwest Macy's have seen a decline in sales since the change over. Big surprise!

Weekend Review

What were the Thomberg's up to this weekend...

• Andrea and Marly make a quick trip to the pediatrician to check on Marly's cold on Saturday morning. She was just fine.
• Nap time for all on Saturday afternoon. Even Mommy got 20 minutes, so everyone could fight their colds.
• Play time with other buck-a-roos (young and old) at the Lyon's Party on Saturday night.
• Mommy and Daddy stayed awake until 11 pm!!! watching a Netflix movie (Mr. Brooks) after returning from the the Lyon's Party.
• Sunday Mommy read the scriptures at church.
• Direct from church, the Thomberg's headed to Costco, ate the $1.50 hot dog lunch, used our $8 off diaper coupon (and spent a whole lot more on supplies), and gassed up the Pacifica too.
• Sunday evening, Jesse, her boyfriend Tony, and Frank the basset hound came to babysit Marly and Dean.
• Andrea and Mark dined out at Manny's Steak House in the new W Hotel to celebrate Brett's birthday.
• The birthday crew headed up to the 27th floor to the bar at the W for a nightcap. Mark enjoyed a tasty mint martinee!

Mid-week ramblings

It's Thursday and Mark has been battling a cold this week. Marly and Dean have snotty noses, and I am doing my best not to have my sore throat progress to the full blown symptoms.

Yesterday I wanted a meal that would be cold-friendly. I am not the greatest cook. If any special skills or techniques are required for a meal, this would not be a recipe for me. I do love my crock pot though (from my mom's big country kitchen. I can't recall if she gave it to me when I lived in St. Paul, or if I took it from the kitchen after she died). I love loading it up and plugging it in as I leave for work, knowing while I am away, something delicious is simmering and will await my return. I think I use it way more then my mom ever did.

Wednesday my crock pot was filled with beef minestrone soup. About 45 minutes before eating the soup, one cup of pasta and some cut squash needed to be added to the crock. I called Mark at the appropriate time and asked him to add these two ingredients. When I arrived home, I headed straight to the kitchen to check my masterpiece meal. I had added crushed garlic and fresh basil to the recipe, for an added oomph. I opened the crock and noticed a nearly empty box of whole wheat rotini sitting next to it.

"Umm.. .Mark, how much pasta did you put in here?" Needless to say, the soup was less soup like then intended (we had to add more broth). On the economical end, I have a nice Pyrex full of minestrone soup/casserole in my freezer. Perhaps a bit carb loaded??? Mark agreed to left-overs for tonight.

On an unrelated note, here are my dirty faced, wild haired kiddos last week - 19 months old. I do not take them out of the house in this state! Yes, they are both in stripes and that is intentional, if you are wondering if I still coordinate them.

Borders books supports Gillette!

I am working with a new fundraising sponsor for Gillette/Children's Miracle Network - Borders bookstores.

This Thursday through Friday (Oct 9-12), Borders will donate 25% of all purchases made using the special coupon shown here to Gillette Children's Specialty Healthcare.

I am having a GREAT time working with some wonderful employees at Borders, and hope we can get many people into any of the metro area Borders with the coupon!

If you are in the market for some books... Click HERE for this coupon you can print. Feel free to forward the information and coupon to others.

I suspect Nanny Auntie Kelly will be taking Marly and Dean on a little excursion to the Coon Rapids Borders to pick out a few items on Friday. Dean likes to eat his board books... It may be time to replace "Goodnight Moon" or any of our Sandra Boynton board books.

Click HERE if you would like to sign up for our Gillette E-newsletter!

Weekend recap of reunions

This weekend I had the opportunity it catch up with several college friends from various circles. On Friday evening and Saturday morning, Jenny Lyons and I hung out with our friend Molly Dellwo. Molly (and Jenny) and I studied abroad together in England. We lived up 120 steps in Upper Diana at the Alnwick Castle. It is best not to start on memories, as I could lose pages of text to this period of my life. Molly supervises corporate travel programs for Carlson and has spent the last seven years on the road and traveling the world. She was in town this past weekend and had pizza with the Lyon's & Thomberg Families on Friday night, spent the night at Jenny's, then on Saturday I met the two of them for a delicious brunch at the Clicquot Club Cafe in Minneapolis.

Sunday I enjoyed seeing several women from my sorority at SCSU - Delta Zeta. Marly and I attended a baby shower for Angela (Clement) Reda. I was delighted to spend a bit of time with our friend Holly, and see Amy, Melissa, Trista and Deanna. Angie and I lived together in the DZ house on the corner or 6th and 6th...or was it 7th and 7th. To mention a single favorite memory, it would be battling bats one summer in our basement/cave apartment at the sorority house!

Anyway, somewhere between the reunions, Mark and I had "date night." We saw the Dutchess at the Roseville theater. Although our evening was anti-climactic, on the rare occasion I go out alone with my husband, I surely attempt to savor the time, and not just talk about parenting!

Visiting a friend

Earlier this week my friend Amy (Degnan) Schaffer flew into town from her home in Kansas. She came to visit her mom with her week old son - William.

Who is Amy? Amy and I met when we both lived in Duluth and worked at KDLH Newschannel 3 (CBS affiliate). I was working part time on the assignment desk and doing some reporting, after completing an intership at the station. Amy then got hired on as a full time reporter (a position I had applied for.) We were both fresh out of college. When she arrived in Duluth, she was shacking up in a hotel, while searching for an apartment. After completeing his own TV intership at a competitive station, my then friend only Mark had departed as my roommate in Duluth for a job in Alexandria, MN. This left me with a two bedroom apartment lease, an empty room, and need for someone to pay the rent. I walked up to Amy on her first day on the job and pretty much said, "Hey, you want to come check out my apartment?" She looked friendly and nice. We have been friends ever since. We also made great roommates. I spent many mornings yelling at her to wake her up. Seems alarms were never very effective for her. After Duluth, I moved to Madison, and she moved to Witchita (both of us moved on to climb the TV job ladder.)

We both got married, naturally. We both left TV news. Amy returns home to MN to her mom's house in Eden Prairie for holiday's and family events. This red head is a regular visitor at the Degnan house the day after Christmas. They can pretty much just expect that I am going to show up.

Anyway, Amy came back Tuesday with her new son (leaving hubby and two daughter's at home) to introduce the babe to Grandma Maureen. Amy's mom Maureen is in my prayers DAILY... more then once a day. She is battling cancer. Amy's mom is a very special woman. Over the years, she has touched and warmed my heart in a very mom-like way. When I got married I had a very tough time with out my mom. Somehow Amy's mom reached out it just the right way, at just the right moment, and for this, I will hold her dear forever. It was something little and simple, but it mattered so much to me. Maureen went on to lay out my whole wedding program for me... just because she wanted to help!

Yesterday, I popped over to Eden Prairie for a quick visit to Amy, her new son, and her mom. I will continue to pray for all.