You don't need to show/tell us...

Searching for a home in the Twin Cities is great!  Actually, the great hunt is terrible.  The homes with the best locations are old, run-down, and over-priced.  The nicest homes on the market are also some of the cheapest.  The only problem is that Ken would spend more time commuting to work than actually working. Alas, I have found some amusement in the home search.  All of the photos below are taken from actual real estate listings in the Twin Cities.  My apologies if this is your house.

Does the bald eagle actually come with the house?

This photo intrigues me.  Why is there a bed in the living room?  Why is there a couch in the office?  Why is everything set up like movie theater seating?

This clip is from the seller's disclosure.  I think including the dog's weight is more disclosure than I needed.  Thank goodness these forms don't get more personal!

Yes, they really posted a picture of the furnace and water heater.  I'm not sure if they were just providing photographic evidence of their presence, or letting us know that they aren't ugly.

I love this bedroom...beautifully staged.  They even managed to get the perfect movie clip to play on the TV.  Now this is an example of someone desperate to sell!

Never mind what the dining room looks like...check out all those plants!

Same house, even MORE plants!

Wow!  They have plants in the bedroom, too!

"Perhaps if we focus on the plants, no one will notice the size of this bedroom."

This is a beautiful home, inside and out.  For a while I couldn't figure out why it was selling at such a cheap price...

Here is a map of the house.  Yes, the house almost sits directly on top of active railroad tracks!

I actually visit this house listing often when I need a laugh.  Check out those patterns!

Plaid carpeting and wheat on the walls.



Would 3 different patterns be too much?



We mustn't leave out the bathroom.  These people are really over-the-top.  A shower door and a curtain! And yes, all of these patterns are in the same home.

Here we have the fairly un-helpful listing with 7 pictures of the exterior of the home...and not a single photo of the interior.  Shall we guess what the inside looks like?





Summer in MN

This summer is below average in regards to temperature and above average in regards to rain. So when we have a sunny day, we definitely take advantage of it. Today the girls and I enjoyed a trip to the park for a picnic. A nice boy Camille's age and his mom invited us to play baseball with them. We had a great time!

 

Fun with Aunt Bernadette

Last Sunday Ken and I had a lovely time attending a picnic for my music fraternity, SAI.  The girls enjoyed bonding with their Aunt Bernadette while we were away.  Here are some cute, short videos of the girls at the park taken by Bernadette's friend Ralph.

Be sure to turn up your volume on this one!

Swimming Lessons!

Camille started swimming lessons this week.  I took a couple pictures on her first day.  She's the 3rd child from the left.

Here is what Camille has to say about swimming lessons:
"I want to tell Makaela about my swimming lessons once our house gets sold."  I guess these two sweet girls are going to have a reunion!
"I want to tell Aunt Becky that I won't go too deep and my teacher's name is Sarah, just like your best friend."
I asked Camille if she wanted to tell everyone what she does and swimming lessons, but the response was "I don't know."

There you have it, folks!  Camille misses her friends from Gainesville and her Aunt Becky!

Growing, At Last!

We gave up on modern medicine.  No more blood tests.  No more consults with specialists.  No more ultrasounds and x-rays. 

We turned in the only direction we know works for sure.  We took Meghan to our favorite priest and good friend, Fr. Gjengdahl.  He was the acolyte at our wedding (before becoming a priest), and he baptized Camille.  A few weeks after arriving in Minnesota, we took Meghan to Fr. Gjengdahl for a special blessing for sick children.  That blessing is the only thing that worked.  Since that blessing about 8 weeks ago, Meghan has gained 2 lbs! This was after not gaining an ounce for 6 months.  "Thanks be to God" is all we have to say! 

The many faces of a blessed and GROWING Meghan:

Sisters!

After several demands for pictures of the girls, I finally uploaded a few.


Camille's legs are not actually as long as they look; just a camera optical illusion.





Last week Camille asked me if she could drive the car at the grocery store with her "best friend, Meghan".



Who knew grocery shopping could be so much fun?!

Meghan liked to yell out the window at the passing shoppers!



Girls Gone Wild at Rainbow Foods!



The Simple Woman's Daybook

Outside my window... sunshine and heat!  Yesterday the temperature was in the 90's!

I am thinking...Camille's eczema is going to get much worse once she starts swimming lessons next week.  Chlorine every day is going to leave her with skin like an alligator.

I am thankful for...chai every morning.  Yum!


From the kitchen...Granny made us dinner last night.  Usually I cook dinner, but she offered to do it since I haven't been moving much. The chicken and rice hotdish was delicious!

I am wearing... my new PJ's mom gave me for mother's day.  They're dark purple with lime green dots and really cute!

I am creating... a grocery list. (Yes, I know, boring, and the same as last week...) That's what I do on Tuesdays.  Wednesday is double coupon day here.


I am going...absolutely nowhere!  I was pondering a trip to Sam's club and the grocery store, but have to wait until my daily dose of ibuprofen kicks in.


I am reading...CNN.com.  Ken and I are following the Casey Anthony trial.


I am hoping... Meghan does not get the chicken pox.  She was exposed to my shingles and wasn't vaccinated for them until Monday.  We have already been pretty much quarantined for the last several days and I would hate to have this continue too much longer.  Also, I bought new shoes for zumba and really want to try them out at the Y on Friday.  Hopefully we'll all be in good shape by then!


I am hearing...the girls playing with eachother.  We had a rough start to the morning, but Meghan's nap seems to have cheered them both up.


Around the house... disaster!  I have barely moved from the couch in three days and have pretty much let the girls run amok.  There's always time for cleaning tomorrow...

One of my favorite things...hearing Meghan talk.  She has several words in her spontaneous vocabulary now and she also repeats what we say.


A few plans for the rest of the week...doctor's appointments.  I have my shingles re-checked on Thursday and Meghan has a post-op appointment for her eye.  Unfortunately, it appears that Meghan's tear duct has already closed up again.  Her eye has been water for a couple of days.


Here is a picture (or two) I thought of sharing... we went to a farm a few weeks ago.  The girls had fun!