Caterpillar Update

Just in case you are wondering. Boo the Caterpillar has begun to spin his cocoon. I think I might have moved it a little and I hope I didn't mess up his progress. I will update his progress later this week. It seems Adie's fuzzy friend Pooh is also spinning a transformative home. Check Meg's blog for updates:)

Fall Festival

Ok, I didn't like Fall before. It is a vivid reminder that winter is on it's way and I was very opposed to winter. But having kids makes me appreciate all four seasons...well at least three of them really, I still kinda hate winter. But Fall is my new favorite. There is so much to do, I'm not sure we will get it all in. Apple Orchards and Corn Mazes, and Pumpkin Patches, Oh My! (Not to mention Scarecrow Festivals!)

This weekend there was a Fall petting zoo out by Meg's house. Riley's favorite part was the baby piggy...until she and Adie found caterpillars that they names Pooh and Boo. So then we had to buy bug boxes because they needed to come home with us:) Oh boy! We are now proud pet caterpillar owners...but I guess that's better than the potbelly babies she wanted to bring home! Note in the one picture of what looks to be just a bunny, there's a guinea pig mushed under that rabbit!

Pictures From Kyia's Wedding

Another party with the old Hood! Kyia got married on Friday night. It was a great time and really good to see some of the neighbors whom we haven't seen in a while!

TIGF

Today we are going to a wedding for an old neighbor, Kyia Gullickson...I am thankful that Mark and Linda are taking the kids overnight so we can enjoy an evening out...and a night of sleep! Now, if only my kids get some sleep too!

Riley's School Fundraiser

I Swear I will only post his once. Riley has a fundraiser for her school, Yup, already in preschool! If you're interested take a look. Thanks:)

My school's annual fundraiser with Innisbrook has begun. Innisbrook Wraps has beautifully designed gift wrap printed on quality recycled paper, coordinating gift wrap accessories,
gourmet foods and fine Helen Grace Chocolates that make great gifts, Time Inc. magazine subscriptions, and more.

For every item that is purchased, Innisbrook donates up to 40% of the purchase price to my school. I also earn a prize credit for every item purchased. The more prize credits I earn, the more prizes I win!

Please consider visiting the Innisbrook website and making a purchase on my behalf. A link is included below. Our sale will be over soon, so don't wait. Place your order today.

Thanks for your help!

Seller: RILEY Seller ID# R241128F
School: ANOKA-HENN. PARENT COUNCIL
School Number: 115806

Click the link below to visit Innisbrook.com and they will recognize me and my school automatically.

http://www.innisbrook.com/credits/index/studentlink?id=R241128F

If the above link does not work:
1. Click below
2. Select Shop the Innisbrook Online Store
3. Enter School# 115806 and Select Go
4. Select Continue
5. Enter Seller ID# R241128F

Twins Win!

I got to go to my first Twins game at Target Field on Monday and it was AWESOME! Not only was the weather perfect, it actually warmed up by the end of the game. Didn't need the extra sweatshirt, jacket or mittens I brought with me! I had Chinese food and a martini at a baseball game, that was a bit weird:) But the Twins won and I had a lot of fun exploring the new stadium with a few of my friends from work! Josh is boycotting the new field because it doesn't have a retractable roof:) His loss. It was amazing!

Doodle on the Move

Random Rowan Again

Since most of the pictures from Ren Fest were of Riley, I thought it was time for some Random Rowan.

Update! Rowan is now both crawling and as of today sitting up on his own. Yikes! Mobile and trouble all in one week.

The REst

Ok, now that she's done playing fairy games and she is coming up now, here are the rest...well of the really good ones, I took a ton!

Try Again.

Maybe the fairy is too magical, but she's not uploading. Let's try again.

Ren Fest Fairy

Ahhhh, here is our annual tribute to the Ren Fest Fairy! Twig ROCKS! Even Josh has a crush on her...and now I think Rowan is hooked too:)

Big Baby Day!

Today is a big day for the baby count. I think I am up to about 30 people whom I know having babies this year. Today, two very special families are growing! Not that all the other babies this year have not been special, every small person that enters this world is a miracle, but the fact that two of these babies are being born on the same day makes it extra cool.

Baby number one comes as a somewhat extension of our family. Josh's best friend dating back to when he was five years old and Jimmy was 3, and from whom our Rowan James gets his middle name, welcomed Gabriel James McKnite today at 1:07 p.m. weighing in at 8 lbs. 3 oz. and measuring 20 inches. Mama Erica did great and Big Sister Ashley is excited to play Mini Mom! We love you guys!

Baby number two is a mystery as of yet (boy or girl? Here yet? Not sure!), but he/she is on the way. My very good friend Cheri and her hubby Ben were induced this morning (well Cheri was, anyway) and their baby should be here any minute! I am so excited for Cheri to be a mommy! And I'm excited for Cheri's mom, Arlene to be a grandma again!

Energy Saving Tips

Three quick and easy steps to save energy

Some energy-saving tips can be done once, but they will continue to save energy indefinitely. Below are three things you can do on a Saturday morning in September to begin saving energy right away.

1. Set your water heater to 120 degrees.
Water heating can account for 14%-25% of the energy consumed in your home. In addition, water heated above 120 degrees Fahrenheit can damage human skin. To save energy and reduce the risk of scalding, set your water heater dial so that it heats the water to 120 degrees or less. Here is how to test the temperature:

Run hot water out of any sink in your house.
Fill a glass with hot water and submerge a personal or cooking thermometer into the water.
Read the thermometer. If the water is higher than 120 degrees (or simply hotter than you want it) turn the water heater temperature dial down. As a reference point, water that is just too hot to touch is around 107 degrees.
Wait a few hours and test again.
Repeat until the water is at the desired temperature.

2. Adjust your computer's power management settings.
Power management puts your monitor and hard drives into a low-power "sleep" mode after a period of inactivity. Using power management features on your computer can save more than 600 KWh of electricity and more than $60 a year in energy costs.

The two biggest users of power are the display and the hard drive. To improve the power efficiency of your computer, use the following power management settings:
Monitor sleep: 15 minutes or less.
Hard drive sleep: 15 minutes or less.
System standby: 30 minutes or less. Standby mode turns off the monitor and hard drive, and switches the computer to a low-power state.
Power down manually: Every day after you are done using your computer.

3. Install a programmable thermostat.
A programmable thermostat will automatically reduce the heating temperature in your house while you are gone. It is the easiest way you can save energy and money--up to $180 per year.
Set the thermostat to scale back by 8 degrees Fahrenheit when you leave for work and go to bed.

• Living Green 365 Newsletter

Our First Day in Pre-K

Yes, I mean OUR first day. Josh, Riley and I had our first day of Preschool today. The first day is a 1/2 day where parents come and stay with the kids for an hour...fill our all our homework and see what the kids will be doing. I'm pretty excited about her teachers and the school. She will have High School helpers in her class as part of their Child Development courses and she will have outside playground time too. She cried when we left, she didn't want to come home! Wednesday, I leave her for the drop-off start of the school year. From now on I have 2 hours two days a week with just me and the Doodle Monster. What to do...Anyone want to meet me at Caribou? Not enough time to shop or anything... I'm so proud of my big girl! (Now if I can just keep myself from crying on Wednesday~!)

Gibon Video

This guy freaked Riley out.

The Zoo with Jack and Emily

We had an amazing day to go to the Zoo yesterday. The weather started off a bit cool, but we headed to the gift shop for sweatshirts and we spent the whole day with Jack and Emily, Riley's buddies in the neighborhood. (Riley has a little crush too, but don't tell!) Riley's favorite part of the zoo was the geyser at the Russian exhibit...and going with Jack and Emily...Jack LOVED the Gibon - the white guy in the picture (I'll post video of that if I can figure out how...the thing was LOUD!) And he liked the tank that you can touch the sharks and stingrays. Emily liked holding Doodle's hand:)

We also had a great day for viewing the animals. The weather was comfortable so the animals were active and playful instead of lazy and sleeping like the hot summer days we have been there. Check out the Bear!