Friday, October 31, 2008

Hollering for the moose...

I learned two things this week.

"Hollering for the moose" is Norwegian slang for spending the night pucking.

We have spent too much time hollering for the moose at our house this week.

I think we're over the hump now.


"Moose, king of the woods."

Sunday, October 26, 2008

Pumpkin Spice Latte, good enough to turn your "Fall" into an "Autumn"



Thor enjoying a sunny Autumn day... playing football outside with dad.

Anika... always ready to "play model."

Liv doesn't get it... but she is cute anyway!

After getting home from the wedding I'm finding myself sinking deeper into the "pit" of not being able to get everything done each week!! And with the holidays (the REAL ones, not Halloween...) approaching, I have SO MUCH more I want to do...

If I don't make a plan, it will be a repeat of last year ... no Christmas letter, very little holiday baking, very little decorating... and worst of all ... NO LEFSE!

I really like the Family Fun website and magazine. I've gotten some very good ideas there... I'm going to share my newest inspirations, even before I use them. Maybe someone out there will help keep me accountable?

Great Idea #1: Weekly Family Menu
Actually, I've been doing this for 2 weeks now, and it really works for me. I have blank "menu" for the 3 meals each day, for 1 week. In each meal I have a color coded spot for Whole Grain (yellow); Protein (brown); Veggie (green); Fruit (red). For those of you who know me, I am NOT a detail oriented person (maybe Dirk is rubbing off on me?). I guess I need the ultra-organized shopping list.

Since Thor and Anika have started school, and taking cold lunch 4-5 times a week, if I don't plan ahead for EVERY meal, we run out of food after 3 days!! I just cannot run back to the grocery store 3 times a week... or we really will spend our whole budget on groceries every month!

I sit down on Sunday afternoons, fill in my Menu, adding thing to my grocery list as I go. It has helped reduce the amount of impulse purchases... I guess knowing what we are doing for each meal helps me be assured we won't need the optional extras?! Whatever I'm doing must be working. My last two grocery bills were each $50 less than the previous 6-8 weeks!!

Great Idea #2: Packing for a Family of 5
I know I will use this idea when we go camping next summer!! Instead of packing a duffel for each family member... laying pants, tops, undies, etc. The idea is to pack each days clothes (per person) in a plastic grocery bag, including undies and socks. Then, when you are at your destination, each person finds their handy bag, and is ready to go... for the girls, I'll probably even add the "hair pretties!"

I really like this idea for holiday trips to visit the grandparents. We usually spend our holiday time "house hopping"... and I get very tired of re-organizing clean/dirty clothes, especially if we have to go to more than 2 homes/hotels on our trip. Dirk hates having to bring in 13 bags just to stay over 1 night... I totally AGREE! This would make mid-trip reorganizing much easier!!


Great Idea #3: Family Holiday Organizer
This is posted on the Family Fun website, if anyone is interested! I LOVED the cute pre-made forms -- ready to print. Go to www.familyfun.com then, Holiday & Seasonal, then Ann's Amazing Holiday Planner!
Her basic idea is to start a 3-ring binder with divider tabs for each family holiday, birthday, etc. In each section, you can make (or use her pre-made ones) organizing forms, lists, calendars, assignment sheets, etc. She also includes a side-zip plastic pockets, so you can save "hard copies" of inspirational items or anything that won't fit in by being "hole-punched."
Not only do I love this idea for the (hopefully) organizational advantages, but also for great family memories!
I already printed out this adorable planner-page for Thanksgiving! Gets me excited already!

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Bethany & Chris... the BIG DAY!!


Congratulations to Chris and Bethany Fletcher... the newest bride and groom in the Moeller extended family!
There are so many details of the weekend, I don't know if I can remember everything... but here are a few of the highlights!
- Supper Thursday night, most of the family together
- Bridal Brunch Friday morning for Bethany, Moeller girls and the bridesmaids
- Decorating the community center Friday PM
- Decorating the CAKE Friday PM
- Rehearsal Friday PM (thankfully the kids didn't have to go!)

- Hair appointments Saturday morning

- Dressing at the church, Photos in the early PM - 3:00 p.m. THE WEDDING!!
- 4:30 p.m. The Reception - a great meal, great slide show and lots of fun!
- 7:00 p.m. Start the Clean UP!!
- 10:00 p.m. Finish the clean up!! Send Bride and Groom off to the Honeymoon!

It was a wonderful, but BUSY weekend... We love Chris, and have a new appreciation for who he is after meeting his family. We love them too!! By the way, Chris and his dad look like a TWINS, not father and son??!! If you overlook the slightly greying hair...(his dad, not Chris).

I really don't have many photos at all... I'll have to wait and blog again when Wendy, the family photographer sends me her pics. She has the only one taken of our Morrison 5 all together, and dressed up for the day.

Here is the cake, finally finished and ready to be served. Unfortunately the photo does pick up the slight "squish" on the left side of lowest level of the cake. It had a slight lean, that was actually less noticeable in real life.

This was the top section, with their Monogram, CFB,
There were 5 sections to the cake, with 2 layers in each section (plus a separate small double layer Birthday cake for the mother of the groom). The cakes travelled perfectly from our house to Rosholt. Freezing was a definite help. So, other than having to have my oven repaired the DAY I wanted to start baking, the rest of the procedure was a breeze!!

Dad did the "fancy" work on the cake... I love his grapevine on the lowest level. I did the assembly, base frosting and frosting pearls between each layer. We "budgeted" about 2 hours for the assembly and decorating... obviously we have not done this in a while. Reality hit us at about the 3rd hour... but really, it was only about 3 1/2 hours from start to finish. (not the baking of course).

Last but not least, the lovely bride and groom. This isn't the best picture of Bethany, but it does show off her dress neckline, and gorgeous bouquet! LOVE those roses!!