New project: deck stripping and refinishing

Here is our newest project: stripping and refinishing our deck... Wish us luck!

Before...

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Look What My Hubby Did! Our Awesome Backyard Sandbox!

We are the proud owners of this beautiful, brand new, home and hand-crafted sandbox!  We knew that our son was definitely outgrowing the little turtle sandbox and we wanted him to have an updated version!  I spent lots of time researching sandboxes, sand, and everything that goes along with them.  I finally found a blog that outlined a wonderful sandbox building plan and decided to go with that.  If you want to build this same sand box, check out these wonderful instructions: How to Build a Sandbox with Seats.

Now that the planning stage was over, it was Ryan's turn!  Together, we went and bought all of the wood and other materials (except the sand) and then Ryan got busy building.  I would have liked to help, but with a one week old baby at home, it wasn't very feasible.  After the frame was all built, 'planted' in the yard, and stained, it was time for sand!  My parents were nice enough to pick up the sand from Menards and bring it down to our place with their trailer.  We don't have a trailer and we didn't think that either of our vehicles would take very kindly to having over a ton of sand (LITERALLY) loaded into the trunk!  Anyway, after it was all said and done, here's how it turned out!

We love our new sandbox, especially Mr. Brennan!  Thanks, Daddy!

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A Mother's Work is Never Done... So True!

I saw this on Facebook tonight and wanted to share it with you all!  Too funny...

 
A man came home from work and found his 5 children outside, still in their pajamas, playing in the mud, with empty food boxes and wrappers strewn around garden, The door of his wife's car was open, as was the front door to the house and no sign of the dog, walking in the door, he found ...an even bigger mess. A lamp had been knocked over, the throw rug was against one wall, In the front room the TV was on loudly with the cartoon channel, the family room was strewn with toys and various items of clothing. In the kitchen, dishes filled the sink, breakfast food was spilled on the counter, the fridge door was open wide, dog food was spilled on the floor, a broken glass lay under the table, and a small pile of sand was spread by the back door. He quickly headed up the stairs, stepping over toys and more piles of clothes, looking for his wife. He was worried she might be ill, or that something serious had happened. He was met with a small trickle of water as it made its way out the bathroom door. As he peered inside he found wet towels, scummy soap and more toys strewn over the floor. Miles of toilet paper lay in a heap and toothpaste had been smeared over the mirror and walls. As he rushed to the bedroom, he found his wife still curled up in the bed in her pajamas, reading a novel... She looked up at him, smiled and asked how his day went. He looked at her bewildered and asked, 'What happened here today?' She again smiled and answered, 'You know every day when you come home from work and you ask me what in the world do I do all day?...
 
''Yes," was his incredulous reply.  

She answered, 'Well, today I didn't do it.'

This awesome photo is property of "Heath Robbins Photography"
✿http://www.facebook.com/HeathRobbinsPhotography
✿http://www.heathrobbins.com/

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It's my Blogoversary!

I can't believe that I've been a blogger for a whole year!  And boy... life sure has changed a lot since then!  I thought it would be fun to look at one of the first posts I wrote about me and my life to compare what has changed.  I'll compare each blue paragraph (1 year ago) to what life is like now (green text)!

Here we go!

 

Hello everyone!

The freshly married couple on our sunny wedding day.

I’d like to introduce myself.  I’m Colleen, AKA Five Foot Mama.  I’m a stay-at-home mom and I live in Small-Town Minnesota with my husband Ryan, our one year old, Brennan, and our almost four year old black lab/shar pei mix, Emmy.  Ryan and I have been married for five years, but in a couple months, on June 17th, it will be six.  I can’t believe how the time flies.  We were married young I was 19 and he was 20- a true puppy love story.  Here we are on our wedding day!

 

Now Brennan is 2, Emmy is almost 5, and the newest little member of our family, Bryleigh, is 11 days old.  Our 7th anniversary is coming up soon, in June

Our puppy, Emmy, at 6 weeks.

A lot has changed since then!  In 2007, we welcomed the furriest member of our household into our family.  Emmy, our lab mix, was tiny at 6 weeks old, but now she weighs in at a slightly overweight 75 pounds!  She is so strong and pulls this five foot mama around like crazy on walks!  At least she is starting to calm down a little bit in her ‘old age’… until we see a squirrel, that is!

After discovering an amazing dog leash, the 'Gentle Leader', Emmy walks very politely!  Walks have become much more pleasant!

 

The day we signed our purchase agreement.

In 2008, we purchased an adorable little place 3 blocks away from Lake Pepin in Minnesota.  Ryan’s commute to work from our new place is 40 minutes and we have most of our family nearby, within an hour. We spend a lot of time with our families, so having them close is absolutely crucial!

Now that Ryan had a REAL job we decided that we could FINALLY start our family!  Within one month of trying for a baby we found out that we were already pregnant!  I was shocked that it had happened so easily and so quickly.  I figured that I’d be one of those people that wanted a baby so badly, but couldn’t get pregnant… apparently that just wasn’t the case with me.  We were so excited, but really scared, too.  After all, having a baby is a scary thing!

It all became even more real after having our first ultrasound and seeing our baby’s heart beating a mile a minute.  We were relieved to see this!  We felt like we were out of the woods as far as miscarriages were concerned.  Unfortunately, we were wrong.  I had a missed miscarriage at about 12 weeks.  This was probably the hardest thing I’ve ever dealt with in my life.  Thanks to the support of our wonderful family and friends, we got through this hard stage of our lives and moved on.  The miscarriage anniversary is still hard and every year I dread April 18th, which is right around the corner.  This year will be 3 years.

 

This year will be four years...

Flowers from Ryan... the same as we had in our wedding.

Again, we started trying for a baby.  We’d wanted one for so long, so the wait was terrible.  It took a lot longer to become pregnant this time, a year…. a long, stressful year of worrying and hoping and letdowns.  Finally it happened.  I took a test on July 1st, 2009 and it finally came back positive!  How thrilled we were!  Now the waiting got even harder and the praying increased ten-fold!  Ryan brought me home Stargazer Lilies on the day we found out…

Waiting on our miracle...

We made it past the first trimester and things were still going perfectly.  I was growing a very healthy baby and the doctor assured me that everything was going to work out this time.  I had really horrible morning sickness throughout the pregnancy and the doctor ended up putting me on a regimen of vitamin B6 and unisom.  That was the only thing that stopped the constant puking!

Maternity photo taken 10 days before Brennan's birth.

Besides the sickness, aches, and pains, I just loved being pregnant.  I loved to feel my baby kick around inside my tummy and feel so unbelievably close to it.  I couldn’t get over (and still can’t) the fact that pregnancy and babies are such an amazing thing! How can something so wonderful and amazing be created from nothing?  It truly is a miracle and I thought about it everyday.  I still do.  This passage rings so true: Psalm 139:14 – I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.

Brennan Bradley- February 24th, 2010

We chose to keep the sex of our baby surprise.  It was so hard not to find out!  I really wanted a girl and most people thought that’s what I’d be having.  Most of the old wives’ tales pointed that way, too.  Well, they were all wrong!  On February 24th, 2010, nine days before his due date of March 5th, Brennan Bradley entered the world!  It really was an amazing day!  I had a very rough labor and delivery, which I will go into detail on during another blog post… it’s a whole post in itself!

Brennan was a teeny tiny little boy and I was instantly in love with him.  He really was/is a beautiful baby.  I’m not one who normally says beautiful- I say nice.  But Brennan really was beautiful.  He weighed in at a whopping 6 pounds 2 ounces and 19.5  inches long.  I guess he takes after his little Mama.

Brennan is almost 14 months old and not so tiny any more!  He has just started walking and I’m hoping he gets a lot steadier soon!  He is such a heavy guy to carry around!  Don’t get me wrong- he’s slim and trim, but he’s built sturdy!  He has a mind of his own and quite the stubborn attitude to go with it!  I love him like crazy and he can be ridiculously sweet sometimes, doling out kisses as fast as he can give them, but such a stinker at other times!  He is such a challenge and a reward all at the same time!  He’s so great, we’re thinking about adding another challenge/reward to the family sometime in the near future!

 

Now Brennan is 25 months old and is a strapping young man!  He can outrun me pretty easily and jumps well beyond his years.  I thought he was heavy a year ago... now he's 30 pounds!  We're no longer thinking about adding another member to the family in the near future- we just did that!

 

I have not posted Bryleigh's birth story yet, but will be as soon as I find time to write it all up.  But, I'll give you a really fast run down...  Bryleigh was born on March 31st at 11:02 pm.  She was 7 pounds 14 ounces- quite a bit bigger than her big brother was!  I went to Mayo for a Trial of Labor after C-Section.  Luckily, it went great and I had a successful VBAC!  It was such an awesome experience!  I loved being awake to see and hear her miraculous arrival.  Plus, my cousin took amazing picture to capture these unforgettable moments for us! Bryleigh has been such a good, happy baby so far.  I'm sure hoping she stays that way!  She has not displayed any of the dairy sensitivities that Brennan had, so I haven't had to change my diet to continue nursing.  I really hope I don't have to!  I like milk too much!  Bryleigh is truly a blessing and she rounds out our family wonderfully.  Does she complete it??? I'm not sure yet. :)

OK, that was a mouthful, but that’s pretty much my story!  Believe it or not, I occasionally have a few minutes to do other things when I’m not baby-wrangling.  I absolutely love to knit and crochet.  I make a lot of baby hats and other goodies.  Currently I’m finishing up a knitted hooded cardigan for Brennan, which really is too stinking cute.  I love to sell what I make, so if you are in the market for handmade knitted or crocheted items, let me know!

I finished the cardigan and it turned out great.  It won't fit Brennan until he's 3 or 4, though!  I am still planning on opening up a blog store to sell some of my crocheted stuff.  Hopefully I'll find the time to have it up and running soon!

Photography is a passion of mine, as well.  I think that a picture is worth 1000 words and captures memories that will last a life time!  I take a ton of pictures all the time!  Outside ones are great, but since I live in snowy Minnesota, a lot of times I end up throwing a sheet over the back of a couch to make an indoor studio. 

 

I just bought myself an portable photo studio for my birthday!  I've got a backdrop stand with black, white, and green muslins, as well as three light stands!  I can't wait to try these out on my little models.

I’ve decided to start this blog to share funny Mama stories and tell other Mom’s about ideas I’ve had, products I’ve used, and give them helpful tips I’ve discovered.  I might even use the blog to vent a little here and there.  Basically, I’m going to use this blog like you would use a friend- to have conversations about anything and everything with all of my readers!  I hope you will come back often to see what I’ve got to say!  I’d love for you to leave comments for me!  Let me know what you think of what I have to say, whether you agree or disagree!  If you’d like to contact me, please email me at colleen_m_anderson@yahoo.com!  Thank you so much!  Have a great day!!!

 

Over the last year, I also got interested in doing giveaways and hosted quite a few.  I plan to host more, so check back often!

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That 'To-Do List' Feeling

Awww man!

I'm starting to get the feeling that I need to write another to-do list.  For a little while, it seemed like I was getting most everything I wanted to do accomplished, but now, it feels the other way again!  Whenever I can cross one item off of my mental list, I need to add two more.  So, whenever the feeling finally gets strong enough, I take that mental list in my mind and put it down on paper.  For some reason it really seems to help motivate me and the sense of accomplishment seems even greater when you can physically cross an item off of the list.  Plus, if it is written down, Ryan is way more likely to happily help me cross some stuff off.

So, here's what I can come up with off of the top of my head right now...  It is no big surprise that almost all of it is baby related.

1. Finish new baby bumpers (which requires a few steps: #1- cut fabric squares, #2- glue/adhere fabric to pipe insulation, #3- make and apply snapping bands).  Now I bet you're curious about what kind of bumpers I'm making!  Watch for a tutorial soon... :)
2.  Make ring sling
3. Crochet a cocoon to match a baby hat.
4. Finish B's baby book before the new baby comes.
5. Try to start the new baby's book.
6. Keep up my baby journal and blog.
7. Officially open my blog's crochet store (That's right!  I'm finally working on getting a mini-store up and running on my site where I can sell some of the stuff that I just love to make!  In turn, I'll be adding more to my to-do list!).
8. Finish the hat I'm working on for a friend.
9. Rearrange pictures/wall hangings in Brennan's room and add the cool new wall cubes I found that match perfectly!
10. Work on any little details for Brennan's birthday party on the 25th.  I can't believe he's turning two  next Friday!!!
11. Find some little shoes (or a cute shoe pattern) for the baptism.  I'd like to find some newborn ruffle-butt tights, too!
12. Buy a baby ring and chain.
13. Make final decisions about which double stroller and baby monitor we want to get and just buy them.
14. Keep working on finding a great deal on a Mei Tai carrier.
15. Work on writing my next Etsy store review.... you guessed it!  Watch for a review and giveaway right after I have this baby!  This one will be cute...
16. Complete my search for diaper fabrics and schedule a sewing day with my family!
17. Clean and reorganize the basement.  
18. Clean and reorganize the upstairs.
19. Oh, and the obvious ones... Fold and put away laundry.
20. Run and unpack the dishwasher.
21. Constantly pick up the hurricane of toys that hit the house!

Well... I'm sure there's a lot more I need to do, too, but I'm wasting too much precious Brennan-is-asleep time to keep just thinking about it!  Tell me about your lists so I don't feel so crazy!!!

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What does your morning smell like?

Anyone who regularly reads my blog knows that I like to post a lot of pictures and tell stories about my life, but most often, about my son.  Sometimes these stories are fairly detailed and lengthy, with a lot of pictures.  The post idea that hit me this morning was totally the opposite, but it fits perfectly with the title of my blog, "A Day in the Life of a Five Foot Mama".

As I was changing Brennan's diaper and getting him dressed for the day, here's what was running through my head- "Ahh.... the smell of rank diaper and fruit snacks in the morning."  Many of you are probably smelling freshly brewed coffee or maybe some muffins in the oven.  Well, enjoy your coffee and muffins while this Five Foot Mama basks in the residual odor of fruity poop!

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Officer Schneider's Final Goodbye...

It's been a week and a half since Officer Shawn Schneider's emotional and touching funeral and I just wanted to let everyone know how it went.  The turnout was absolutely tremendous.  We had police officers, firemen, and EMS from all over our area, and even as far away as Las Vegas, in attendance.  Many area citizens and supporters of the Schneider family even turned out to line the streets during the processional and support the family.

I did not go because I would have had to bring Brennan with, but my husband attended the funeral with Lake City's volunteer Ambulance crew.  He said it was basically indescribable.  It was something that was amazing to see, but that you just pray to God that you'll never see again. 

I wanted to share one picture with you.  I didn't take this picture, it was passed onto me from a friend.  Someone she knows took it, but it struck me and gave me chills.  I put it into Photoshop and did a little editing on it.  I think it turned out stunning.

The processional was just majestic.  It was 4 miles long and included a ton of police cars, some firetrucks, our ambulances, and Officer Schneider's casket being carried along my two beautiful black horses.  This picture summed up the feeling of the day perfectly.  The black and white scene symbolizes the sadness and somber mood of the day, while the brightly covered flag gives us hope that comes shining through the darkness to illuminate our lives- that everything will be ok.

The "Final Call" was read at the end of the burial.  This is what it said,  

"515 to 208.........515 to 208......attention all units, 208 Officer Shawn Schneider is out of service, End of watch Dec. 30 2011.....208 is 10-7."

It only seems fitting that as the "Final Call" was just ending, the clouds suddenly parted and the warm sunlight came pouring down, spreading over, all of the mourners in attendance.  It was like someone was really there, still watching and protecting them, and sending down his love and comfort even from beyond this life.

Please continue to pray for continued healing and comfort for all of family, friends, acquaintances, and supporters of Officer Shawn Schneider.  Also, take the time to tell the people you care about what they mean to you.  You just never know when you'll no longer have that opportunity.

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Police Shooting in our Hometown- update

As much as I was hoping to never have to write this post, the time has come that I need to.  In the post I wrote a couple of weeks ago (Police Shooting- A Sad, Scary Day in our Hometown), I told you about how one of the 10 police officers in our little town was gunned down while responding to a domestic disturbance call.  As more information emerged, we found out that Officer Schneider was shot while helping the 17 year old former girlfriend of the enraged gunman escape the house where her ex-boyfriend was holding her.  As the girl ran from the house, with Officer Schneider shielding her while running behind her, he took a bullet to the back of the head/neck.  He was rushed to Mayo in Rochester and was in critical condition for 2 weeks.  The gunman was later found dead from a self-inflicted gun shot wound inside the house.

Sadly, Officer Shawn Schneider passed away on Friday, December 30th around 5:30 in the evening.  The community has been mourning the loss of this awesome citizen, civil servant, and hero ever since.  The part that gets to me the most is that he leaves behind a wife and 3 young children.  I can't imagine the pain and worry that the family is facing but I'm so happy and proud of how the community, as well as many other nearby (and faraway) communities have stepped up to help and support his family.  Many houses in town still have their porch lights on to show support.  There have been countless benefits and fundraisers.  Many are still going on even after Officer Schneider passed away.

The funeral is set for Saturday and we're sure that the turnout will be tremendous.

 If you would like to send a donation to help support the family, a fund has been set up at one of our local banks:

Shawn Schneider Family Support Fund
Alliance Bank
105 E. Lyon Ave., PO Box 455
Lake City, MN 55041

We hoped that nothing like this would ever happen here in our safe, peaceful community and we were all taken by surprise when it did... surprise is really an understatement.  Now, all we can do is hope and pray that nothing like this ever happens again.  Please keep Officer Schneider's family and friends in your thoughts and prayers, as well as the family of the gunman and the 17 year old girl involved in the altercation.

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Police Shooting= A Scary, Sad Day in our Hometown

We had quite an eventful, sad day in our hometown of Lake City, MN today.  Lake City is a very small town- only about 5300 people, yet today the unthinkable happened.  An armed gunman shot an officer, who was responding to a domestic disturbance call, twice- once in the back and once in the head, before barricading himself inside of a house.  To make a long story short, the officer is currently at Mayo in Rochester, MN in critical condition and we are all hoping for a quick and complete recovery.  Things look promising so far.  The gunman apparently turned his weapon on himself and was found dead in the home nearly 10 hours later.  Here's what just one of many articles said about the incident:

"Lake City Officer Shot; Gunman Believed Dead

Officer shot in head, in critical condition

Updated: Monday, 19 Dec 2011, 7:28 PM CST
Published : Monday, 19 Dec 2011, 9:35 AM CST

FOX 9 News

LAKE CITY, Minn. - A police officer is in critical condition after he was shot in the head while responding to an altercation at a home in Lake City, Minn. on Monday. A standoff with the suspect lasted into the evening, until officers entered the home and found the body of a man believed to be the gunman.

SLIDESHOW: Standoff in Lake City

The Wabasha County medical examiner will positively identify the body of the man found in the home, but the standoff ended once it was found.
According to the Minnesota Department of Public Safety, the shooting occurred after two Lake City police officers were called to the home at West Lyon Avenue to a reported domestic incident involving a handgun.

There were two shots fired, with Officer Shawn Schneider, 32, suffering a head wound at the front door of the home. Schneider was taken to St. Mary's Hospital in Rochester, where he remained in critical condition Monday evening. The second officer was not injured.

Police confirmed the suspect in the shooting is Alan J. Sylte Jr., 25, of Hager City, Wis. They believe Sylte remained inside the home, armed with a small caliber handgun, after shooting Schneider.
A perimeter was established around the home at 618 Lyon Avenue, but a police tactical team was not able to make contact with Sylte, who has a criminal record that includes battery and disorderly conduct charges in Wisconsin in 2006.

Schools in Lake City were placed on lockdown at the request of police during the standoff. The school district said all students were safe inside the school, and buildings remained on lockdown until shortly after 6 p.m., when police advised schools that it was safe to transport the students home.
 The Bureau of Criminal Apprehension will investigate the shooting."

This has all come as quite a shock to everyone in our close-knit community!  This is something that we see happening in other cities around the country and the world, but can never imagine happening in our own backyard.  The house where the stand-off occurred is only 7 blocks away from my own home. 

We are all hoping and praying for the wounded officer and his family as well as thinking and thanking everyone involved with the situation today- the police officers of Lake City and several other surrounding communities, the volunteer fire department, the ambulance crew, all of the government agencies involved, the teachers and school officials that kept our students safe and calm during lock down, and everyone who stepped up to help in one way or another.  We would all appreciate your thoughts and prayers. 

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Homemade Drain Cleaner

Hey everybody,

I just wanted to take a quick second to share a homemade recipe that I found online last night.  It is for a natural, homemade drain cleaner and it did the trick when we needed it to! 

You see, we had a clog in our basement drain, which is where our washer drains, and the water was backing out further and further.  We are assuming that we had a lint clog, because water was still draining, but very slowly.  We quickly went to grab some chemical drain cleaner, only to find that we had none!  I hate to use the stuff, but didn't really know that there were a ton of other options.  I ran upstairs to Google 'homemade drain cleaners'.

Voila!  I had all the ingredients for the first 'recipe' (already on the washing machine, no less) and I ran downstairs to give it a try.  Here's how hard the recipe was to do...

Dump some baking soda in the drain.  Follow that up with some vinegar and watch it foam.  We did this to the drain a couple of times and it was flowing freely again.  I can't speak to how tough a clog this would work well on since we don't know what our clog was for sure, but it worked great this time.  Definitely worth a try and WAY cheaper and safer for the environment and family, too! 

Hope you find this helpful!  Good luck!

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A Blogger Apology!

I've been busy the last couple of days... very busy and it's only going to get worse over the next few days!  So, I just want to apologize in advance for my lack of upcoming blog posts!  I'll be back to normal blogging soon!

Here's what's been keeping me so busy!

Before... (the duct tape was temporary!)

After Day 1...

Handy Woman!

Here's my bathroom!

Dust-covered Hubby and I

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