Minnesota Mom

Lots of Coffee, lots of kids. It's a peaceful life.

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Um, how old?

by Filed Under: Family Fun, Minnesota Me, Special Events 24 Comments

 For those that don't know, my birthday is rapidly approaching.  Its one of those milestones with a zero on the end, and a 5 or something on the front.  I won't tell you my exact age of course, as a blogger never tells. We are doing it up this year though, and I wanted to cook myself something special.  We just got a wok, you … [Read more...]

got milk? Magic Straws: A Review & Giveaway

by Filed Under: Family Fun, Give-Aways, Minnesota Me, Reviews 47 Comments

Got kids? Got milk? Then have I got a fun review for you. got milk? Magic Straws are disposable straws that come in a variety of flavors. Each straw is filled with tiny flavor beads that dissolve as you sip your milk through the straw. Each straw has only 17 calories and 4 grams of sugar, which, if you’ve done the research, is much less sugar … [Read more...]

Checking in with a Hello! and a Church Photo

by Filed Under: Anecdotal, Blogging, Just Me, Minnesota Me 12 Comments

Hello! So I was telling Barbara that I could very much relate to her “disconnect” post. I’ve got lots I could say in this little space (Hello? Remember those vacation posts I promised? You don’t? Well, no great loss then) BUT—conversely—I have far more to do in the slightly larger space that’s home. Except…would one’s home be larger than the … [Read more...]

About Last Night*

by Filed Under: Marriage, Minnesota Me, Spiritual Growth 17 Comments

I have been thinking (read: fretting) a lot about my last post, mostly because it was a little private and I’m not in the business of embarrassing and/or estranging my readers. Are you kidding? I am nothing if not an affirmation hound. “Love me!” I say, jumping into your lap. “Love me love me love me love!” Thus the visit on Monday to a Catholic … [Read more...]

Reflections on the Feast

by Filed Under: Depression, Living Liturgically, Marriage, Minnesota Me, Pregnancy, Unemployment 17 Comments

[One Day Out] So yesterday was the feast of Our Lady of Sorrows and we didn’t do a whole lot, unfortunately, other than go to Mass in the morning (me) and talk about how Mary really “gets” our suffering. (Me again, while the rest of the family listened dutifully). “She had seven great sorrows,” I said, waving my prayer book. “Does anyone … [Read more...]

Where were you?

by Filed Under: Current Affairs, Minnesota Me, Tributes 9 Comments

This post was originally published on September 11, 2009. Has it really been eight eleven years? I remember September 11, 2001 as if it were… …well, as if it were the horribly infamous day that it was. The morning dawned bright and sunny here in Minnesota. I went for a walk while the rest of my family slept, and brought home a caterpillar to … [Read more...]

Unexpected Empathy

by Filed Under: Minnesota Me, Motherhood, My Girls 9 Comments

I have written volumes about my feisty blonde brownie. (Her blog name is Angela but in real life, she shares her name with a hurricane.) This is fitting. The girl’s got spunk. What we forget, I think, as mothers, is that underneath those most predominant traits are softer, subtler qualities. Just because we don’t see them daily—because, … [Read more...]

A Little Liturgical Lesson

by Filed Under: Living Liturgically, Minnesota Me, Special Events, The Faith 6 Comments

Today the Church celebrates the feast of the Nativity of Mary. In other words, Happy Birthday, Blessed Mother! One of the things that I talk about in my liturgical year presentation is keeping our feast day celebrations simple so that we actually do them. How simple (and delicious) is baking a birthday treat? It’s a piece of cake, right? And … [Read more...]