Questions

Recently I was in a parking lot fender bender. The minor accident involved me and another lady. There were no passengers. My car went in for front end repairs on Wednesday morning. I picked up the Milan Friday afternoon.

The kids knew Mommy's car got fixed. Friday night Mark was out with friends. I put the kids to bed and we said prayers. Out of the blue, Dean brought up Grandma Marlys. He began to ask about her accident.

Dean - "Mama, what happened to Grandma Marlys?"

Me - "She died in a car accident Dean."

Dean - "Like your car accident Mama."

Me - "No, not like my car accident."

Dean - "Did an ambulance come?"

Me - "Yes Dean. There was an ambulance."

Dean - "Did a policeman come?"

Me - "Yes. A policeman came."

Dean - "Did a firetruck come?"

Me - "Dean, I really don't know. I wasn't there."

Dean - "Why didn't the ambulance save her."

Me - "They tried Dean, but they couldn't fix her."

Dean - "Why didn't the policeman help her?"

Me - "They tried Dean."

Dean - "Was there a stop light?"

Me - "No Dean, it wasn't at a stop light."

Dean - "Did they take her to the hospital?"

Me - "Yes, but she died before she got to the hospital."

Dean - "Oh. Okay then."

All the while, Marly is simply listening, and learning.There were kisses, and the conversation was over.

The next day, we were heading to an kid's mini art class in Plymouth. An ambulance came by in the opposite lane. The sirens were on. The lights were flashing.

Dean - "MOM! An ambulance!"

Me - "Yes Dean."

Dean - "Mom, do you think there was an accident like with Grandma Marlys?"

Me - "Dean, I REALLY hope not. I hope the person who needs the ambulance is just hurt."

Dean - "Okay Mommy. You be careful not to get in an accident."

Nearly 11 years after my mom's death, all this seems like simple reality.
Dean's Friday night questions did not produce a stream of tears, just welled up eyes, and a few moments of reflection.

I am glad my children have question about their Grandma Marlys. Questions mean memories. Memories mean we will not forget.

Happy Mother's Day

I had a wonderful Mother's Day. The truth is, last year, in my head, I expected Mark to make my day GREAT. When he wouldn't make me coffee in the morning before church (he offered to go pick up Caribou), there was no breakfast (he offered to pick up Fat Nats Eggs if I ordered), and he was his usual poky self getting ready with no time to help dress the kids... I was...well - MAD!

This year, I changed my mindset, and changed my mood. I loved my day. It started on Saturday, when I ran errands by myself. I went to Costco, and also needed to go to the grocery store. In between, there was a detour to Hot Mama. I picked up the bright blue maxi dress I had been eyeing on line for weeks. I wore it all weekend and it made me happy.

Sunday Mark ran the Susan G Komen 5K for Caribou. He slipped out early. I stayed in bed, and watched some HGTV. On my own time, I got up and started preparing my quiches and salad for the lunch we were hosting for Nana Chris, my Dad, and my Aunt Toots. Again, hosting lunch was my pick for the day. (Mark's mom was having lunch with Kelly, otherwise I would have surely wanted her to be with us!)


The kids were darlings and slept until 9 AM, so I had plenty of time to enjoy the quiet house. When they did get up, I let them play outside in their jammies. They were happy and I was smiling as I set our table for lunch. (Ohh... notice the photo above. My little darlings stole two of the Arthur Court napkin rings before Mark could get a photo.)

When Mark arrived back home, he had a medium 1/2 caf latte in hand for me. I didn't chance him thinking of this on his own, although he probably would have. I called and ASKED sweetly for my fix. He was glad to oblige. He also had a fun token gift for me from the kids.

Our guests arrived. I served the traditional Betty Crocker 1973 quiche Lorraine recipe, and a leek and Gruyere cheese quiche. (The second pick was bland.) I also made a chicken salad with apples, basil, peanuts and a lime and rice vinegar dressing. We served Costco butter criossants. Of course there was champagne. Again, the menu was all my own. Things that would please me.



Afterwards, Mark handled the clean up with out even a prodding look from his happy wife. Our guests talked, laughed, cuddled Marly and Dean, and relaxed.


Later, all the Thomberg's settled in for a nap, and then Mark took our yearly mommy and me photos.

To complete Mother's Day, we headed out for greasy burgers - another Thomberg tradition. More often then not in the Twinner's 4 years of life, we have headed to Wagner's/Galaxy Drive in. This year we stayed closer to home. The weather was a little dreary, so I picked Juicy Lucy's at the 5-8 Club.

Here are a few notable things I haven't already mentioned that made for a truly lovely day (both material and from the heart).

• My kids telling me "I love you Mommy!" without being solicited. They do this every day, not just on Mother's Day.
  




• Being able to host my Aunt Toots to lunch on Mother's Day. Her on own girls were busy with their daughter's, so I got the privilege of honoring my aunt. It meant a lot to me. I was ecstatic when she accepted my invitation.
  




• Actually, I feel good when I can attempt to make other mom's feel special on Mother's Day, most surely including Nana Chris. Not having my own mom here makes me want to give to other women.
  



• The Pandora beads Marly and Dean picked for me for my charm bracelet. This year and last, Nana Chris has taken the kids shopping for these little trinkets. I LOVE IT. I love that Chris is so thoughtful. I love that the kids pick. I love that the Twinner's love their "secret" gift.




• I think the tableclothe in the photo above was my dad's mother's. I never refer to Marion Melberg as my grandmother because she died when my dad was just a boy. If my Aunt Carol checks in, she would be able to confirm this....
  

Anyway, I hope all the mom's out there found their own special way to love their day too.

My Dream Job

The other day while getting my Caribou fix, I stopped to take a look at one of their newest features to engage their guests - 'The Dream Board' chalk board.

Staff write a question, 'Bou customers chalk their answers.
Current Question, "What is your Dream Job?"

Before my medium 1/2 caf latte was up, I had my answer.

For a few brief moments I thought about the careers I have been intrigued by over the years, but never pursued.

Mortician (yes, for real), Genetic Councilor, Pastor, Barista at Caribou

But in reality, it took only moments to acknowledge my own truth.
I landed my dream job four years ago.
I posted my answer in capital letters with purple chalk.

MOM

It turns out the pay isn't great, the 401K match is non-existent, and there are no sick days offered, but the BONUS's....Oh my are they awesome!

Happy Mother's Day to all the mom's out there! This ones for you.

A Funny Thing said by Miss Marly

Sunday we attended the 8:30 service at our church. After, we all got in line for the Men of Peace monthly pancake breakfast before heading to Sunday School.

While eating, Pastor Nancy stopped by our table. Pastor Nancy is our lead pastor. She was there when we began attending over 4 years ago, before the birth of Marly and Dean. She baptized our children. She often blesses the Twinner's when they walk up with us for communion on Sunday's. She is a 40 something blond woman.

Pastor Nancy came to ask me if I would join the stewardship committee for the campaign year ahead. I was not surprised she asked. She knows I fund raise as a profession, and she has seen me volunteer in other capacities at church. While at the table, she briefly described the demographics of the committee. I inquired about when we would meet. Naturally, I enthusiastically agreed to serve.

Pastor Nancy moved on. Marly looked at me, then looked at Mark, then said,
"Why was Jesus talking to Mommy????"

HU!!!!??????

Mark replied with a smirk,
"Did you see Jesus beside Pastor Nancy?"

Marly was quiet as we both chuckled, and tried to make light of the situation.

We are not sure where we have went awry here! We attend church regularly. The kids go to Sunday School. We pray at dinner and at bedtime. We just made Ressurection Rolls last Saturday, and celebrated EASTER.

And yet somehow....Marly thinks Jesus is a blond female pastor living in suburbia!

Time to read some stories from that Bible picture book we got recently.

Book Club, Elephants and Costco

I have mentioned before my neighborhood ladies have a book club. We call ourselves 'The Riverview Readers'. I'll just be honest, many members gather to drink more then gathering to discusss literature. Reading the book selection is NOT a requirement. Many books get held over. We meet the last Thursday of every month. We gather at 7 pm. We rotate houses. We drink wine. We talk about the book. We talk about everything else. We talk about how the men DON'T gather unless we plan a neighborhood activity outside of book club. Just to be honest again, we talk about the other neighbors too!


Last week I hosted book club at my house. We had unintentionally taken a month of hiatus. I didn't read the book. I think it was called "Night Over Water". Someday I will read it. The ladies who completetd the novel alerted those who didn't it is pretty steamy. Steamy is good.


At book club, the hostess can serve whatever she wants. Nothing fancy though. Crackers and cheese, and something sweet (bought or baked) works well. Fruit goes, like if you have grapes in your fridge. You must serve wine (a selection of red and white). Others may bring a bottle. It better not be fancy. It probably aught to cost $12 or less.... more likely less. That's how it goes, and it works for us.

Last week I served chips and salsa, cheese and crackers, strawberries, bruchetta with a toasted bagette, and Costco's Kirkland sea salt caramels. I also served Kirkland wine. It was the right price point, and went over well.

We may have discussed the sea salt caramels, wine, and Costco as much as we discussed Ken Follets (author???) book.
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Last night, the Riverview Readers went on a field trip. We headed to the theater to see "Water for Elephants" (our book 4 months ago). My neighbor Jill (along with Kelly and Jaci) picked me up at the end of my drive, then stopped three houses down to get Chlo. We headed to Champlin where Jill got us in for FREE because her future son-in-law is the theater manager. We felt a bit like teen-agers sneaking in.

After a great movie, we headed over to the neighborhood favorite, Maverick's, where we indulged in a drink (or two), since we couldn't drink wine IN the movie. And since we were out, well...most of us choose something harder then wine.

Of course we talked about Costco again. Kelly and Jill had both purchased Kirkland sea salt caramels and Kirkland Pinot Grigio for Easter. Okay, the wine may not have been for Easter. Kelly also discussed 'Night Over Water' again. She talked about how she thought the print was particularly small, thus making it difficult to read, and part of the reason she hadn't finished the book. Jill suggested it was time for cheater glasses, and not the text in her copy.

So, there you have a rather random glimpse into our book club!

The Riverview Readers - driving the sales at Costco, and keeping our little community sharp!

The rest of our weekend

Easter Weekend was a traditional four day weekend for me, and we made the most of it. Friday the kids were good sports, and we met my dear pal Jessie for coffee at the 'Bou. Later the Thomberg's headed to a matinee to see HOP at the theater.

Look at Little Man (above) with his daddy. This was not planned, but they both have on Gap button downs, vests and hat! Aren't they handsome?

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Saturday morning we started off making Resurrection Rolls, before dying eggs. A lady at church told me to google it. The recipe is simple, and LOTS of mommy's blogged about it this past week. Pillsbury Crescent Rolls and marshmallows tackle the story of the death of Jesus, his body, the tomb, and Resurrection. When complete, there is a hot, sweet treat to eat. I will embarrass myself, and disclose I could NOT find a bible to read the Easter passages as we made the recipe! I can picture at least two bibles in my house I could NOT locate. I had to google the bible.

Above - Dean is about to dip the marshmellow in butter (representing the oil) and this roll it in cinnamon and sugar (representing the herbs put on Jesus before being put in the tomb).

Below - Marly wrapping 'Jesus' in the 'tomb' .

At noon, we headed to the Springbrook Nature Center in Fridley for their annual Spring Fling.

Not pictured - the always popular petting zoo!

Finally, on Monday I took the kids to Minnehaha Falls for mommy and me time!

It was another percfect weather day, complete with a DQ treat.

So there you have it - Our weekend wrap up. I do regret I did not get to the Maunday Thursday service or Good Friday. I was chatting with my dear friend (& Catholic) Heidi recently about Holy Week, and reflecting on how much I like the somber hymns leading up to Easter 'morn!

A Fantastic Easter

Happy Easter Everyone! Hope you had a lovely day & enjoyed the lovely weather.

On Sunday, the Thomberg's headed to church, took some photos in our yard,

(before getting too muddy),

then loaded into the Pacifica and headed due west to Bird Island to my cousin Dawn's!

We stopped for coffee at the 'Bou, got gas in Plato, and pulled on a gravel road near Brownton for two kids to go potty. Two hours later we arrived with our bowl of broccoli salad.

It was a great day. Naturally, as a child we gathered with aunts, uncles, and cousins every holiday. Then we grew up. We got married. Some of those we love have left us. We have our own families. We host our own holidays.

But this year, we gathered! My cousin Dawn invited and rangled some of the Toren clan. We had a marvelous day.

We ate (of course).

The kids hunted for eggs under rocks and behind trees.

The adults had an egg toss under the open blue sky and white clouds.

I was paired with my Uncle Gary. I took one for the team. There is still egg on my shoe and sweater. Every adult had a true and natural grin from ear to ear.

There was one four wheel rider for five of the second cousins. They went up the country road to see the neighbor's cows. They returned with reports of lots of cows pooping and peeing! Dean was the only boy. Of course he found himself seated right in front.

Late in the afternoon, we headed back to suburbia. We made a stop at Nana and Papa's. As Mark and I were getting ready for bed that evening, he was STILL talking about the egg toss. He declared it a fantastic Easter!

I second that!