Monday, July 30, 2007

Saint Paul Saints

We have long been wanting to attend a St. Paul Saints baseball game, and on Saturday night we had our first opportunity. The Saints are a minor league team, and we had heard that the games are very fun, in a somewhat-lame, over-the-top, minor league sort of way. They play at Midway Stadium, a colorful little spot very near our church. In fact, it was friends from our church who offered their season tickets for Saturday night, and we jumped at the chance.

All in all, we had a great time. Master was loving the whole experience. He was taken with watching the baseball, with the trains that pass just behind the outfield fence on a pretty continuous basis, and with all of the general silliness and hysteria that took place between innings. He especially loved a man with a horse head mask who would come and dance in front of our section. He danced along excitedly and then asked "Where horsey gooooo???" for quite a while after the baseball resumed.

Miss also enjoyed the game . . . though she was a bit nervous at the outset. She wasn't quite sure that she was going to enjoy the crowds or the loud music that periodically startled her as it blasted from a speaker directly behind us. As the night went on, though, she couldn't help but enjoy all that there was to see. Her favorite Saints tradition was the trotting of a *real* pig onto the field throughout the night. She loved the pig. Thought he was so cute. And, of course, is now asking repeatedly why we can't have a pet pig. Or maybe a horse. Or a cat. Or, how about a pig?

Mr. and I would love to go back and see an entire game alone (we left in the 4th inning due to squirming Master and the late hour). I would especially enjoy this when no longer super-pregnant, because of the oh-so-comfy bench seating.

Here are some pictures of the outing, for your enjoyment:


The littles wanted to wear "baseball hats" to the baseball game. Master now thinks that, if he puts his hat on, we can go back to the game.
In front of Midway Stadium. Trust me, they are more excited than they look.
This is the maneuver I had to employ most of the night to keep Master from running away and exploring *all* of Midway Stadium. Yes, those seats around us were all eventually filled.
Behold "Muddonna", the team mascot. I was unable to capture an image of the real pig, whilst performing the Master-holding maneuver illustrated above.Taking it all in.

Saturday, July 21, 2007

Pregnancy Insomnia

Perhaps it is the heartburn. Perhaps it is the fact that a crow bar is needed in order to roll my gigantic self over in bed. Perhaps it is all of the thoughts racing through my mind. Whatever the cause, I am having a lot of trouble sleeping lately. It is always this way for me during the final month or so of pregnancy. It is annoying and difficult, especially when the two littles will be wide awake at approximately 6:30 AM, ready to enthusiastically tackle another day. At least it does prepare one for the rigors of late night feedings once the baby arrives. It won't require much of an adjustment for me to function on very little sleep.

Thankfully, my kids are thoroughly enjoying the beautiful summer days we have been having in the Twin Cities. They happily entertain themselves in the back yard with the wading pool, the wagon, and a couple of cups in which they can collect dirt, leaves, and weeds. Master's favorite toys right now are a couple of sticks he found that look something like airplanes. It's the little things, and inevitably the cheap/free things that make all of the difference, folks. While the littles are enjoying these diversions, I am able to plop into a yard chair with a glass of iced tea and exert very little energy. Come to think of it, maybe I should get up from said chair and run a few laps around the yard with the kiddos. Maybe that would help with the sleeping. Then again, maybe I would keel over in a heap, requiring Miss to dial 911. I think I'll stay in the chair.

I can also rejoice that the children continue to be easily entertained by yours truly. This is the response I can elicit merely by crossing my eyes:



Yep. Even when I'm cranky, frumpy and frustrated by lack of sleep, they still think I'm great. I know it won't always be this way, and so I'll be thankful for it right now. And I'll be glad that it can help to sustain us all through some tiring times in our immediate future.

Wednesday, July 11, 2007

Happy Birthday

Today is his birthday. My closest friend. The Daddy that they can't wait to meet at the front door. The hard worker who provides, daily, for our family's needs.

As Miss would say, I'm a lucky ducky.

Happy Birthday.

Monday, July 09, 2007

Catching Up Again

This summer has been filled with activity and visits from family. We've had a great time, but all of the activity and the pregnancy exhaustion has led me to neglect this blog. With many apologies to those of you who bother to check in here regularly, here are some highlights from our summer thus far:

We celebrated a lovely father's day by going to church, listening to Mr. teach the adult Sunday School, and then by hanging out at Lake Minnetonka.
We celebrated Master's second birthday with my parents. We went to Como Park Zoo (a fabulous, free destination), and relaxed at home with cake and presents.
One of Master's favorite new presents has been thoroughly enjoyed in the back yard.

Just last week, Mr.'s family arrived after driving out from California. They made the trip in 3ish days with our 3 year old and 1 year old nephews in tow. A brave lot, my in-laws. We were able to enjoy much fun and frolic before they headed back west.
Today, we celebrated Mr.'s birthday a tad early with a trip to the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden and Sawatdee Thai for dinner. Here we have the littles' favorite sculpture.

Enjoying fine art.
And finally, here we have our reflection in one of the sculptures. That's the most detailed shot you're going to get of me at this stage of pregnancy.

I will be making a valiant attempt to return to regular blogging and keep all interested parties up to date as we anticipate the arrival of baby #3.