Ten on Tuesday. Dana vs Kim. Volume 8.

Eleven days since our last blog post. I know you're worried, but we're fine. At least we are mostly fine now. In that time I have (in no particular order) seen and photographed a fresh newborn baby girl, attended my brother's wedding and welcome a sister-in-law, talked to cowboys and taken rodeo entries, sorted through all of my baby clothes into keep, throw, send to Dana and rummage sale piles, and worked a few hours too.

Dana is busy working too. She kicked off the summer reading program, fought a nasty sinus infection and most importantly, continues to incubate a human being.

I know we missed a couple weeks of Ten on Tuesday, but nobody complained or even said they missed us. So we evidently haven't drawn as large of a following as we'd like to believe. At any rate, we're back. Enjoy!

Ten on Tuesday – Topics and Archives

Questions for Tuesday, May 31, 2011!

1. From your childhood, what do you miss most about summer vacation?
D: Running around in my swimming suit all day long.  I wouldn't do it anymore even if I could (you're welcome), but how can one get any more carefree than that?
K: Sitting at baseball games 4 or 5 nights a week.

2. Are you going anywhere on vacation this summer?
D: I'm taking maternity leave the middle of July, does that count?  And approximately 3 weeks after that begins we'll be in Yankton for an extra-long weekend for my brother's wedding & family reunion.
K: Kind, but not really. We will be going to several weddings across South Dakota, and we may work in a few extra days around those.

3. What foods do you like to barbecue?
D: Steak, hamburgers, and brats.
K: Burgers, hot dogs, brats, chicken, veggies

4. How do you celebrate the fourth of July?
D: I think it's been two years since I've stayed up late enough to see fireworks.  Lame.  Maybe this year we'll celebrate with a new baby (wishful thinking).
K: This year we'll be taking rodeo entries all day. We usually try to grill and spend the day outside.

5. What’s your favorite beverage to drink in the summertime?
D: Powerade and Mtn. Dew (that's year-long actually)
K: Lemonade

6. What movie are you looking forward to seeing this summer?
D: Cars 2...with Kim
K: Kung Fu Panda 2 and Cars 2 - yep

7. In the car: windows down or AC?
D: Windows down in town, AC on the highway
K: Windows down until it gets super hot, then AC

8. Have you ever had a summer fling?
D: Not so much.
K: Not really. In my early teens I'd crush on some 4-H boys at the judging clinics and state fair, but I was holding out for a cowboy. :)

9. Do you wear sunscreen?
D: Yes.  I've learned that my skin can handle about 30 minutes of exposure without sunscreen before things get ugly.  Then I usually put on something with a low SPF and to still get the color, but not the burn.  It's a science, really.
K: Yes, but probably not nearly as well as I should. I try to be diligent to the boys at least.

10. Do you have any favorite summertime activities?
D: Going for walks, splurging for late-evening trips to DQ for ice cream, and catching a baseball game or two.
K: Playing outside, grilling, watching rodeo, walking.

A Quick Convo

Throughout the week, we try to meet up a few times to chit chat using instant message. For the really important stuff, we use email and occasionally, there's a phone call thrown in. So if there's an entertaining exchange, we'll go ahead and share on here. This is what went down tonight.

Background - at 30+ weeks pregnant, Dana has contracted herself a sinus infection. Ouch. It has also been a crazy couple of weeks for her at work including an open to the public event last night with blow up games for kids. She's a brave lady.

I have been fighting a nasty canker sore which I realize sounds like a pretty minor ordeal but I'll assure you its much worse. Probably.

A peek at our exchange:

D: Pity party - Facebook - now. Available?

K: Ha! You're funny. What's up?

D: Just got home from Pizza Hut. Going to take my antibiotic...so I'll feel like poop in about 30 minutes. :)

K: Did you have a pity party there?

D: I tried...but I didn't have anybody else giving me pity. I needed you.

K: :)

D: How are you feeling?

K: Meh, the face is a bit better. As long as I don't eat anything or talk too much. :) I'll live. I really just needed to whine.

D: We're likely in the same boat. If attitude is everything, I'm screwed. :)

K: You had better make peace tonight. The world ends tomorrow. ;)

D: That's what I heard. Or gathered from Facebook.

D: I'm out of the loop. God forgot to tell me.

K: Bahahahahahahaha. Alright, I'm all better.

K: Ok, I really better go. In case we get sucked in the hole tomorrow...see you in heaven. :)

D: Save me a spot at your table. :)

K: Done. No facial pain in heaven. ;)

D: Sweet. You think I'll be forever prego though?

K: No, you won't be prego forever. Soon enough you'll have loads of sweet newborn snuggles and you'll wonder where the time went. Enjoy - it might be your last chance to look like a blimp. Not that you do. I wouldn't know from the lack of pictures.

D: :) I meant in Heaven...

K: OH! I get it. I would doubt it. Its pain free bliss there. And that's definitely not pregnancy.

D: True enough. I'll take it.

Ten on Tuesday. Dana vs Kim. Volume 7.

Ten on Tuesday – Topics and Archives

Questions for Tuesday, May 10, 2011!
Provided by Nora at Walking With Nora.

1. If you could watch only one movie for the rest of your life, what would it be?

D: Hoosiers or 50 First Dates.  Totally different ends of the spectrum, but both good flicks.

K: I have to go animated and say Meet the Robinsons

2. Let’s say someone wrote a screenplay about you; what actor/actress would you choose to play you and why?

D: Dakota Fanning...mostly because she hasn't yet (or at least I haven't heard) been tainted by Hollywood--meaning she hasn't been busted for drugs or caught stealing anything.

K: No way someone would write a screenplay about me – we are terribly boring and average. But in the off chance they would, I pick Jane Seymour. Remember her from Dr. Quinn?

3. What’s the first movie you remember seeing in theaters?

D: Maybe Lion King?  Yikes, sadly enough it's kind of hard to remember.

K: We went to some animated movie as a family when I was three or four – Pinocchio or Bambi maybe? The next movie we went to as a family (I’d been to a few in between) was The Titanic. I’m pretty sure my dad slept through both shows.

4. Did you ever make out at the back of a movie theater in middle school/high school?

D: Negative.  Who pays money to do that anyway?  Wouldn't you just stay in the parking lot?

K: I’m going to say no. At least if I did, it was bad/weird/awkward enough that I don’t remember. Bahahaha!

5. Are you a Netflix-er, Blockbuster-er or a Redbox-er? (Or none of the above?)

D: Not yet.  I would imagine I will be someday.  It's probably the coming-of-age way to watch movies, of which we don't do very much at all.

K: Netflix-er, but its less about what comes in the mail and all about what I can instantly watch or show my kids. I’m currently watching the MONK series and the boys have seen way too much Diego and Blue Clues on the Wii.

6. Name one actor/actress who you would give anything to have a dinner date with.

D: Julia Roberts.  She seems normal and I think we could strike up a good conversation.

K: Brad Pitt - maybe he can explain the answer to #7. And...he's Brad Pitt.

7. What’s the worst movie you’ve ever seen?

D: Meet Joe Black.  Kim and I went to it when we were in high school and it's been a long-standing great (or horrible if you're just talking about the movie) memory ever since.  Honestly, I really want to rent it and watch it again to see if it was really as bad as I thought it was at that time.  I likely just didn't understand the plot.

K: Meet Joe Black – I’m afraid we just didn’t pay very good attention (meaning, zero). Let’s make a date next time is feasibly possible – I’m up for watching again with you! If we giggle as much as we did the first time, there’s no way it can disappoint.

8. Do you sneak snacks into the theater when you go?

D: I will admit I'm cheap, but I don't think I've ever actually done that.  Which leads into the next question..

K: No, but I know which movie theaters give free refills on soda and popcorn.

9. Movie theater popcorn: love or hate it? 

D: Big time YUM!  The thought of it is nearly killing me right now.  I LOVE it!

K: LOVE IT! We actually stop for popcorn without seeing a movie. And not even always in our own town. Sometimes while we’re out of town we’ll stop and grab that as a snack. No lie. When we lived in Brookings, theater popcorn was our meal several times a month. We’ve never found any better than Brookings.

10. What is the all-time best Disney movie in your opinion?

D: Lion King, Pocahontas, or Cars (but I haven't seen Tangled yet and I've heard great things about that too).  The Little Mermaid has fantastic music...as does Aladdin, so I guess it sort of depends on what you want out of your Disney movie. :o)

K: I have to go with Meet the Robinsons again. If you haven’t seen it, please do. It’s a pretty awesome story, has great music and little Lewis is so sweet. I’m a big Disney music fan, so its hard to go wrong with most of their soundtracks.

The Biggest Difference.

Darling Gage, we are so much alike it hurts sometimes. And yet so very very different.

This morning you woke up in the wrong bed, again. For some reason, you find it necessary to snuggle in cramp up and push me off my bed in the middle of the night. We have helped you develop some seriously horrible sleep habits. I get that. We're here to help you change those, like it or not.

Today when you woke up, you told us that you had a dream last night. Often you'll dream of bears or dinosaurs chasing you, once you were terrified of a volcano exploding around you and you frequently talk about things falling down holes, or holes in the floor of our house. Today was different. Dad watched you recount last night's dreams and it boiled down to a dream about a mutant turtle in a mask. He was licking your fingers because you forgot to wash ketchup off of your hands last night and he thought it was pizza, because mutant turtles eat pizza. You said I was screaming because I thought the turtle was going to kill you. You assured me that he wasn't trying to kill you, he just thought you were pizza. So one of four things happened:

1-The bump you took on the head when Wrangler tripped you and your melon crashed on the asphalt gave you some serious hallucinations.
2-Wrangler snuck into your room last night and licked your hands as they hung over the edge of the bed (he was probably trying to make up for tripping you!) and woke you to a semi-conscious state.
3-Someone's been watching too much retro Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle.
4-You feel guilty for not washing your hands enough.

I'm going with #3. Because you told me a daycare drop off today that you were wearing red sneakers, like the teenage turtles.

Hello Gage's dream:

Alternatively, my dreams have nothing to do with turtles and while I do fear the teenage years to a certain degree I am generally too tired to dream much at night. I have trained my body to take advantage of sleep time for sleeping. Thank goodness. Most of my dreaming happens during the day, when I should be working. Productive, no? Today, I'm consumed by chocolate. Specifically, these little babies the Pioneer Woman posted recently.

Knock You Naked Brownies

Don't let the Naked throw you off and prevent you from clicking. You'll thank me later. Unless you're Dana and don't care much for chocolate, but even she'd probably thank me.

Ten on Tuesday. Dana vs Kim. Volume 6.

Questions for Tuesday, May 3, 2011

1. What is the weather like in your city today?
D: It's nice...finally! The sun is shining, the birds are singing, and the wind is less than 40mph.
K: Dark, but earlier we actually saw the sun. As of yesterday the snow has finally melted.

2. Do you like the zoo?
D: Yes--great entertainment. We've taken Easton at least once the past two summers and I'm sure we'll hit it up again. I'd like to take him to the Omaha zoo in the near future...maybe after I stop waddling.
K: I feel right at home at the zoo. No really, I do love the zoo. Jack and I used to go even before we had kiddos. For my 2nd official Mother's Day, we bought a membership to The Dakota Zoo in Bismarck. It was an awesome gift idea and it is a great zoo - really interactive, a great 'nature' trail and tons of fun extra activities throughout the year.

3. Do you eat coconut?
D: I don't mind it in a recipe, but I can't say it's one of my top 5 favorite flavors.
K: Not a lot. Its great crisped up on shrimp though!

4. Have you ever hammered a nail? Are you good at it?
D: When I was a kid we had a dog house that we pounded nails in to. I'm not sure if I can properly describe just how many nails were in the roof of that dog house. Thousands, I'm guessing. I know there came a point where if Dad needed a nail or two, he'd go to the dog house and pull them out.
K: I made a bookshelf in freshmen ag class that we still use in our house. I had to take a building trades class in college for my degree and while I didn't teach wood shop in my 2-1/2 years as an agriculture teacher, we did use hammers from time to time.

5. Does your family have a vacation destination that you visit often?

D: Not really. We're lucky to get more than 3 hours away from home annually. We're just not big travelers at this point in our lives. Maybe some day.
K: Not yet. We hardly ever leave town and we usually go to Mom and Dad's when we do. We did go to California for Christmas, which used to be more a tradition for Jack when he was younger. I'd love to continue that trend - who doesn't love Disneyland in the dead of winter?

6. How many pillows do you sleep with?
D: Three. Five would be better.
K: One, and it needs to be replaced. I'm not sure why I don't have more though.

7. What’s the first thing you do when you wake up?
D: Wish the alarm hadn't gone off.
K: Look at the clock to figure out if I should let Gage get up for good or not.

8. Will you send your kids to summer camp?
D: Yeah, if they're interested. The only camps I ever went to were sports-related, but they were always fun.
K: If they want to go, we'll sure try to make it happen. I never went to an overnight summer camp. I'm certain I would have loved it though. Too many hog pens to clean, calves to bathe and lambs to run to get away much.

9. What do you put in your baked potatoes?
D: If the baked potato is a meal I would prefer butter, sour cream, cheese, and bacon. If it's a side, then usually just butter and salt and sometimes sour cream.
K: Butter, cheese, sour cream, salt, pepper. In that order. Sometimes I leave out the butter, if I'm feeling healthy.

10. Did you take swimming lessons as a kid?
D: I did...sort of. I always missed at least half of the session because our family was on vacation. I wouldn't consider myself to be good at swimming, but I'm good at not drowning.
K: Yes, and I was terrible. Not as terrible as my sister who can turn her lips blue on command and pretended to be freezing in the heat of summer.