Monthly Archives: October 2011

by Jenn @ Monkey Butt Junction | October 31, 2011

Enjoying the Farmers Market in Winter

We are just a week away from one of my most favorite things: the Milwaukee County Winter Farmers Market. I wrote a review of the MCWFM last year, and I think in its absence over the warm summer months my heart has grown fonder for it. While the wintertime harvest in Wisconsin obviously isn’t as varied or plentiful as our summertime bounty, I love the different options that the MCWFM offers.

Elk and Buffalo. The MCWFM really broadened my horizons last year, as I began cooking with different meats. Elk stew is a staple at our house during a cold winter day. We regularly enjoy buffalo burgers, and I’m convinced that you haven’t really lived until you’ve had buffalo meatballs. Since we don’t eat pork, we’ve found a flavorful alternative in elk bacon, and this year I hope to try some other cuts of meat that we don’t regularly see at the local butcher shop.

Cheese. I’m never in a mood to buy cheese at the summer farmer’s markets. For one, I go to our local market on my bike, and the idea of letting a block of cheese sit in my bike basket while we run our errands isn’t really appealing. Beyond that, cheese on a hot day? No. But at the Winter Farmers Market, cheese is definitely on the shopping list. The local Saxon Homestead Creamery makes the best cheese I have ever tasted. Hands down. Their Alpine style cheese and farm style cheddar always make their way onto my shopping list. They are generous with their samples, and they encourage visitors to try before they buy.

Local Coffee. Milwaukee has a lot of great local coffee options, but there’s something special about trying something new from the farmer’s market. Last year I discovered the amazing Valentine Coffee Company at the MCWFM. I cannot wait to see what this year’s market will bring.

Hard Cider. Now that’s something I didn’t expect to see at any farmer’s market, but the MCWFM website says that AEppelTreow (Apple True) Winery and Distillery will be selling some of their wares this winter. According to their website, they make hard cider, brandy, and specialty spirits. Yes, please!

There’s no peaches, pears, lettuce, or peppers on my shopping list for the winter farmer’s market. Wisconsinites come to terms with the fact that we live under a blanket of snow from November until March (or April…sometimes May). Instead of lamenting the cold, instead I love to use it as a reason to try new things, and in that, the Milwaukee County Winter Farmers Market has plenty to offer.

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by Jenn @ Monkey Butt Junction | October 27, 2011

Gratitude: I Learned a Lesson This Weekend

Sometimes a lesson takes a few days to sink in, to develop from merely a series of events to a full-fledged teaching. I had an experience like that this week.

I had a bad personal experience on Friday. I had been holding money for my mom for a few weeks, but when we opened the safe to retrieve it so I could deposit it in the bank it wasn’t there. I was terrified. I’m the kind of person who loses her purse, her keys, her wallet with alarming regularity, but when it comes to a larger sum of money, particularly one that I was holding for another person, I thought I had it under control. And the really scary part was that I had no idea where to look for it. I could have sworn it was in our safe, but Friday night, it was nowhere to be found.

I didn’t sleep well Friday night. My mind raced as I mentally listed all of the various places the cash could be. I replanned and rebudgeted my finances to make up for the lost cash. Mostly, I asked God for some help. I prayed that I would find the cash and all would be well.

On Saturday morning I woke up before anyone else – although honestly I didn’t sleep much anyway – and I checked the few places I could think of, looking for the cash. The thought of the lost money hung over me like a heavy, wet fog all day. Upsetting. Help me, God. I hate asking for help, but at that moment, I was asking.

And then something amazing happened: when I was looking in our car for the money, I found some documents that my husband wanted to put in the safe. When he opened the safe to put them away, the envelope with mom’s money in it was right there, exactly where I thought it should have been. Exactly where we didn’t see it the night before.

So what happened? Was I praying to find something that I already had? Or was it something that, in my fear, my apprehension, my terror, I had simply failed to see? Wow. What a lesson. I need to be more mindful – am I doing this in other ways in my life? In striving for the next goal, the next milestone, am I overlooking the blessings that presently surround me?

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by Jenn @ Monkey Butt Junction | October 25, 2011

Wordless Wednesday: Happy Halloween Village

I love my holiday villages. My Christmas village was my first love, but I was delighted to see that Halloween villages were becoming popular too.

Each year we add a few pieces. Some are spooky, some are wacky, but I love them all. The village has really grown over the years.

I love setting up the village each year. I only wish I had more room for it all.

Add your Wordless Wednesday link!

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by Jenn @ Monkey Butt Junction | October 24, 2011

My Heart is Joyful, My Heart is Heavy

For nearly two years I’ve been following the stories of two little boys who are about Jack’s age: Sam and Keegan. Sam and Keegan were both diagnosed with cancer: neuroblastoma and medulloblastoma. Malignant central nervous system tumors. Cancer. Baby cancer. (What kind of a cruel world do we live in, where the phrase “baby cancer” even needs to exist?) For the better part of two years, I’ve read their blog updates and cried over their setbacks, prayed for positive results, and celebrated their victories.

On Friday, Sam went in for scans of his liver lesions. They were hoping, praying that the lesions were “cold,” meaning that there was no evidence that the cancer was still spreading through his little body. Good results from the scan today meant that his family could finally take a “wait and see” approach and let their little boy finally be a little boy, as much as that was possible. Bad results would mean more treatment, more questions. His family was on the way home from the scan when they received the call from the hospital: Go celebrate – the scan showed no evidence of disease.

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. Thessalonians 5:16

Keegan had a new MRI on Thursday to see if the long treatments he had endured had made progress against the disease. Instead of just one tumor on his brain and one on his spine, the MRI revealed that his brain and spine were covered in tumors. The cancer was progressing at a terrible rate. They were told there was nothing more the doctors could do. He has weeks, maybe months left. His family is being contacted for hospice care. Hospice. For a two year old. Just a baby.

I have set the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Psalm 16:8.

I know I’m very sensitive to these two boys because they are the same age as Jack. I’ve had the privilege, the absolute pleasure of worrying about Jack’s future: growing up, going to school, becoming a young man. He’s been able to spend his days playing and learning and growing and just being a little boy. I can’t imagine being the mom of a child who has known only doctor’s appointments and hospitals and this fear of the unknown. They are much stronger women than I.

I always feel so helpless when I think about Sam and Keegan and all of the other little ones who are going through this struggle. What can be done for them? I know that both Sam and Keegan’s moms would tell you to pray. Pray without ceasing.

To learn more about Sam, follow his family’s blog:

For more on Keegan’s story, his family’s blog is here:

To do more, learn about the bone marrow registry.

And finally, consider becoming a Survival Mode Parent volunteer to help provide some basic needs to families with a child in the NICU or PICU.

Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Romans 12:12

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by Jenn @ Monkey Butt Junction | October 23, 2011

The Gratitude Post

I’m joining some of my blogger friends this week by writing a Gratitude Post today: five things that I am grateful for this week. I hope that in doing so I can take some time to reflect on the many things in my life that I have to be grateful for, and maybe I can inspire some others to count their blessings as Amanda and Zoie have inspired me.

My healthy, happy son. Monday’s post will talk about this in a little more detail, but right now I am so mindful of the fact that I am very fortunate to have a son who is happy and healthy. I’m watching him spin around now, my little Whirling Dervish, laughing and singing. I am grateful for every day with him, and I can’t bear to think of a world without him.

My good marriage. We have a good marriage. Of course have our moments, as all couples do, but they are always attributable to simple things like an unintentional lack of communication or misunderstanding. We’ve learned the power of discussion, the power of hugging, and the power of taking a few moments or hours to be alone with our thoughts. And when I think that we’ve come this far in just a few short years, I get so excited to think of what we have yet to look forward to.

A very productive weekend. We have a bad habit of spending our weekends “playing.” We’ll go to run errands, get sidetracked, and by the time we can even stop to sit down our weekend has passed and we accomplished nothing on our to-do list. This weekend, though, we were a whirlwind of productive activity. We winterized our windows, cleaned the garage, raked the leaves, did countless loads of laundry, repaired and replaced door locks, and even had enough time for a relaxing Sunday drive. It was a good, good weekend.

Being on track for a big goal. You may have heard me obsessing about my upcoming 15K run. The run is longer than any distance I’ve done before, but I think I’ll be in good shape for it. Last Friday my goal was to run 7 miles before work – I reasoned that if I can do 7 miles and still feel good, I can do 9.3 miles. I met my goal, and I think I’m well on track for the 9.3.

Pumpkin coffee. There’s nothing at all wrong with being grateful for the little things as well as the big things, and there’s something simply lovely about a little “hug” from the coffee cup in the morning. I love my pumpkin coffee.

Thank you Amanda and Zoie – it was nice to take a few moments today and think about the things that I have to be grateful for. Maybe some of my readers will feel moved to do the same.

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by Jenn @ Monkey Butt Junction | October 21, 2011

Fit Friday: The 15K

Is there a word that describes a cross between excited, terrified, and totally intimidated? Whatever that emotion is, I’m feeling it something fierce right now.

I’ve been toying with the idea of signing up for a 15K (9.3 mile) race along Milwaukee’s beautiful lakefront, but I was a little hesitant to talk to my husband about it. As a stay at home dad, he carries the lion’s share of the responsibility for watching Jack. That’s no small task – it is a full time job and a half. So when it comes to me doing something for several hours on a weekend day, it always comes with a big helping of self-imposed mommy guilt. As always though, my husband encouraged me to sign up, and I did, and now I’m facing the reality:

I’m going to run 9.3 miles in just over a week.

9.3 miles is a big step for me. My longest run to-date has been 8.5 miles. I had a bad flu in early October that really threw my running off its game for a week, but I’m feeling strong now and better than ever. I think that the 9.3 miles is going to be a good challenge for me at the end of October. It’s funny how things can change: just a year ago, I was running my first nonstop mile. Now a mile is an extremely short run. I can’t wait to see where I am at next year at this time. Is the sky the limit?

Does anyone have any short term health or fitness goals coming up? How are you progressing?

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by Jenn @ Monkey Butt Junction | October 19, 2011

Wordless Wednesday: Apple of my Eye

This face rocks my world.

Want to link up for Wordless Wednesday? Submit your post!

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by Jenn @ Monkey Butt Junction | October 17, 2011

Safety and Awareness

Since I have started biking with the toddler and running alone, safety has become a huge priority for me when I’m out. For years I’ve seen these bumper stickers:

but I never really “got it” until I started taking my little boy onto the unforgiving road for rides. Now I understand, and I see just how much too many drivers need a reminder that bikes have as much right to be on the road as their cars and trucks do. I do everything I can to keep us safe when we ride, but even then, I am occasionally reminded that bad accidents happen to people who do everything righ t.

Awareness goes hand-in-hand with safety. When I’m out riding or running, with or without Jack, I have to be hyper-aware of everything around me: cars, dogs, bumps in the road, and pedestrians. That holds true both on and off the road. One of my favorite places to ride is a bike path at a local park. The bike path runs mostly parallel with a walking path around the river. The bike side and pedestrian side are clearly distinguished throughout the path:

Pretty clear, right? Yet without fail, nearly every time I’m on that path I’m confronting pedestrians walking two, three or four abreast on the bike side, blissfully unaware or the bicycle traffic trying to dodge them. Worse yet, sometimes they are wearing headphones which makes yelling “on your left” pretty useless. That simple act of walking on the wrong side of the path, no doubt unintentionally, is very dangerous to both the walkers and the bicyclists on the path. Yet just a few years ago, I can see myself doing the same thing. Before Jack, I wasn’t nearly so aware of my surroundings. I didn’t think about things like safety or stranger danger. Now, it is really at the front of my mind every time we put on our bike helmets.

Run, Eat, Repeat has this great piece on runner safety, but the ideas apply to much more than just running. Any time I’m out with my son or alone, running, biking or walking, I need to keep these ideas in mind. My favorite is this one:

Say “Good Morning!” or “Hi!” to everyone you pass. You are doing this for three reasons:

A. You want a potential attacker to know you saw them.’

B. It’s nice.

C. You want as many people as possible to see/remember you in case something happens to you. Yes, this is morbid but smart.

Wow. That is awfully smart, isn’t it?

I’ve collected some links with good information about biking and running safety as it pertains to children. Enjoy:

Bike Safety:

Infant / Baby / Kid; Bicycle, Trailer, Backpack, Child Carrier, Helmet & Bike Safety

Infants and Toddlers: Bike Safety Recommendations

Bike Safety for Toddlers

Running Safety:

Safety tips for running with jogging strollers

Consumer Reports jogging stroller safety tips

General Safety:

SafeKids.org

What do you do to keep yourself (and your family) safe when you are out and about?

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by Jenn @ Monkey Butt Junction | October 14, 2011

Fit Friday: Awesome, Good, Bad and Ugly

Welcome to Fit Friday at Monkey Butt Junction! Every Friday I’ll take a break from parenting and toddler talk and turn to my other loves: physical fitness and running. Glad to have you reading!

One thing that I’ve learned about running is that there are good weeks and bad weeks. Sometimes I will run well, feel strong, and occasionally I’ll even be a little speedy. There are other times where I’ll be taking a walk break every four minutes and gasping for air at each one.

Very recently I had two of those bad runs. I did a whopping three miles one day, and two miles the next, and both were awful. I set out with good intentions and didn’t have a lot of my normal time constraints, but my body just wasn’t up to it. I’d like to blame being sick recently, but I don’t know. I have a lot of self doubt when it comes to running: who am I to think that I’m a runner? Weeks like this just reinforce negative thoughts.

Those two runs were my “bad and ugly” for this week, but since this post is called “Awesome, Good, Bad and Ugly,” obviously I’ve got some good things going on too.

Good: My husband ordered a pair of size 7 jeans for me online. I cringed when I saw them – they looked small. I was going to put them in my dresser, thinking someday, but instead I tried them on. They fit. And they looked great.

Awesome: I gained 40 pounds when I was pregnant, which put me at 195. Much of it was baby and water weight, and within about 2 weeks I was down to 165. Over Jack’s first months I trimmed down to 155 and stayed there. And stayed there. No matter what I did, I couldn’t lose a single pound. I started running during this time. I gained muscle and lost fat, no doubt, but the number on the scale was always the same: 155.

Until now. Right now, the scale says 148. For the first time in well over ten years I didn’t have to move that third 50-pound weight over on the gym scale to get my weight. I know that a seven pound weight loss can come and go in a flash so I’m not celebrating with brownies or anything, but right now this is how I’m feeling:

I’m chalking my bad runs this week up to the fact that running is hard. Sometimes it doesn’t go as planned, and it will get better. In the meantime, I’m going to enjoy my Good and my Awesome for the week.

How was your week? Did you make good decisions for your health? Brag on yourself a bit!

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by Jenn @ Monkey Butt Junction | October 13, 2011

But when does hunting season start?

Last weekend we made a trip to Cabela’s, the “World’s Foremost Outfitter.”

If you are unfamiliar with this behemoth, it is a huge hunting, fishing, camping, boating, outdoor recreation store. In addition to the fantastic shopping, Cabela’s also has an eatery, an old-fashioned shooting gallery, a giant aquarium featuring local fish, and numerous displays of real taxidermied local and exotic animals.

Jack absolutely loves seeing the taxidermied deer, elk, antelopes and bears. So last weekend when he was getting a little bored with watching his daddy window shop for a new gun, I asked Jack if he wanted to go and see all of the animals.

His eyes opened up, wide as saucers, and he asked me with such wonderment in his voice:

“ELMOS?”

I can just imagine that he was picturing: