We’re up at the lake this week, praying our children don’t actually catch a fish, because I’ve never cleaned one before and may pass out if I do. But nothing beats the sound of water lapping against the shore, especially when it comes from outside your bedroom window.

Before we left, I was thrilled to join the LoveFeast ladies, Kristin and Chris Ann, for their first Minnesota BlogLove event at Camille en Rouge in Prior Lake. Because building a house is one thing; decorating it is another.

And I like their style. They’re not about the latest trends or the price tag affixed to an object; they’re about what inspires you. What you love.

And how you welcome people to your table. Because what matters most isn’t that you know which fork to use, when to take a bite, or the artwork hanging on your wall, but how you make your guests feel.

Food provided by Edelweiss Bakery

At their event, I felt inspired by women like Janelle, who designed this apron…

And Amanda of I Am Baker, who baked these sugar cookies…

As well as familiar faces, like Jen of Grow with Graces and Molly of The Snyder 5.

Thanks, ladies!

All BlogLove pictures by Suzanne Jean Photography.

We’re back, finally, at home in Minneapolis, with more than two outfits to wear, which makes us feel spoiled, almost, after spending four weeks on the road. Our routines support us here; I know when I can get breaks and when I can’t. But when you travel, you’re treading water. And while you know you can make it, you’re not always in the best form when you surface.

But before we left, Hope Lake Lodge in the Finger Lakes treated my mom and I to a stay at their resort. I knew the terrain well; I’d spent my childhood tumbling down ski slopes at Greek Peak Mountain across the street.

We walked into the room, dropped our bags and gawked. There was a sunny bedroom, a kitchen, a deep bath and a stone fireplace. We’d spent nights cramped in hotel rooms, sleeping two to a bed. Here, we could spread out. We could sleep without feet in our back.

It was like being home without being home. And that, I think, is what luxury is: the seamlessness of it all.

Our boys slipped their swimsuits on, and we walked to the indoor water park. They splashed in the wave pool, doused me with water guns and slid down the slides.

When our lips turned blue, we soaked in the hot tub, which stretched from indoors to out beneath the mountains.

There is so much beauty on this Earth.

I’m always struck by the topography of the places I visit, whether it be the unexpected jut of a mountain or the shocking starkness of a desert. We all lead such different lives, but we’re tied together by our dependence on our land.

The next morning, our boys woke when the sun rose. We hiked to the lake and its sandy beach. Our toddler picked wildflowers while our boys chucked rocks. And life seemed so simple in that moment that I wondered why we complicate it.

The only thing missing?

Matt.

Disclosure: Our room was complimentary, thanks to Hope Lake Lodge at Greek Peak Mountain Resort.

First four photographs copyrighted by Hope Lake Lodge.

It’s our last day in Ithaca; our kids are wiped out and so am I. It’s taken a toll on us, sleeping together in one room. We go to bed when the last child falls asleep, and wake with the first, which means nobody is getting the rest they need.

We’ve had a blast traveling with my sister + hanging out with my parents, barbecuing in their backyard before the heat wave set in. But now we’re ready to go home to sleep in our own beds and settle back into a routine.

But before I leave, my dad’s reviewing a toaster he was given by CSN Stores Years ago he managed to buy one at a discount store for $6.99 and he was reluctant to part with it, even to try a Cuisinart Metal Classic 2-Slice Toaster. Because fancy brand names don’t impress him; he simply expects products to work.

Disclosure: In exchange for his thoughts, my dad received his toaster free.

When it comes to homes, luxury, apparently, isn’t just about having your own vanity. It’s about having separate bedrooms and walk-in closets, too. At least that’s what my friend Catharine and I learned last Thursday night as we toured luxury homes, thanks to Midwest Home Magazine.

© Pamela Diedrich

Our first thought: That’s odd. Why would you sleep separately? Then we considered the possibilities. No shared covers. No snooze button repeatedly hit. No sounds that weren’t yours, like book pages turning or a rumbling snore.

Because all of us crave a safe place, and a place isn’t always safe when another inhabits it. It’s the small things that can unnerve you after a hectic day: Where did he move my car keys? Why did she leave her shoes where I can trip?

Living together can be stressful. Matt and I joke about building townhouses on our new lot that are connected by a sky way for our kids to pass between us. We’d each have a sanctuary then, our version of couples’ therapy.

What do you think? Does space help create intimacy? Or with space do you lose intimacy?

Coming soon, as a preferred blogger I will be doing a product review for CSN Stores about an item for our new home. Check out their over 200 specialty shops for your housewares.

While driving down Highway 100, I saw a teenage girl texting while driving. She held the steering wheel between her knees. And I felt angry at her, because I had our three children in our van.

While writing just a three-second text message, at 70 mph a driver can go the length of a football field without looking at the road. — Kevin W. Bakewell, senior vice president of the AAA Auto Club South

And I wished I could explain to her the work and joy that was put into her life by her parents and those around her, and how quickly that work and joy could be destroyed. Just by texting.

Texting while driving increases your risk of crashing by twenty times. - Study by Virginia Tech

June is National Safe Driving Month. This week, my husband and I are testing out an H17txt with MotoSpeak™, thanks to Motorola. Over Bluetooth it reads your text messages and emails to you.

Next weekend Motorola’s “Get Smarter”™ cars will be in Minneapolis to teach consumers how to drive responsibly and stay legal this summer. For your chance to win an H17txt with MotoSpeak™ and a free ride in Motorola’s “Get Smarter”™ car on June 18^th and 19^th, follow Motorola on Twitter and Facebook.

Disclaimer: The only true way to drive safely is to put down all devices, as you require both your hands and mind to drive.

Thanks to all the Blog Pantry ladies who came out to Local D’Lish to try their hand at Aunt Else’s Aebleskivers last night. We poured batter into aebleskiver pans and chose among ingredients like cheese, chocolate, bacon, chives, pepper jams, and sausage for the filling. We were delighted by the result: A Danish pastry made of soft dough, with a savory sweet filling, smothered in maple syrup.

Have you ever made an Aebleskiver? Have you ever heard of it? And most importantly, can you spell it?

(The sound quality on my video isn’t great; we tried a new sitter last night, and in my effort to provide a contingency plan for anything that could possibly happen, like what to do if the baby doesn’t like the flow on the nipple, or her brothers won’t stop sitting on her, I forgot my microphones.)

Crystal of Cafe Cyan took home the grand prize for her recipe. No surprise there; she’s a professional foodie.

Also thanks to Kim Moldofsky of Mom Impact and Chad Gillard of Aunt Else for organizing the event.

Appearing in video: The Kitchen Pantry Scientist, Finding Borneo, Little Bean Photography, LoveFeast Table, The Snyder 5

On Saturday, some of the Blog Pantry ladies + I were invited to Macy’s to meet Cat Cora, who was in town promoting her new book, Cat Cora’s Classics with a Twist. We watched her cook a flank steak, and then she whipped up a Grapefruit and Cherry Ambrosia with Honey Cream for dessert.

She spoke about her part in the Chefs Move to Schools campaign, designed to pair chefs with schools to help educate kids on nutrition. On how to cook.

We live in a culture of constant snacking: crackers and pretzels tucked beneath our strollers; juice boxes and goldfish distributed after sporting events; lollipops dished out at grocery stores for good behavior. But what we’re not teaching our children is how to eat. A meal gives shape, like a story: it has a beginning, a middle, and an end. A bag of crackers? Its story ain’t over until you eat the last one.

As Jennifer Steinhauer wrote in The New York Times:

Apparently, we have collectively decided as a culture that it is impossible for children to take part in any activity without simultaneously shoving something into their pie holes.

To which cues are we teaching our children to listen? Should they eat when they feel hungry, or as an award for exercising? Or to stave off boredom, or tantrums? Today our kids consume 168 more calories per day, just during snack time, than we did in 1977.

But at least crackers aren’t as messy as s’mores.

I got hungry as a child. My mom left a basket of fresh fruit out. Her rule was, “If you’re hungry enough, you’ll eat an apple.” And she was right. The thing with apples is you eat just one. The fiber fills you up and naturally surpresses your appetite, whereas goldfish beget goldfish. At least for me.

How do you handle snack time in your home?

On Sunday, Matt and I cleaned out our home to get ready for the Minnesota Blogger Event to End Child Hunger, organized by Molly from The Snyder 5.

Nearly 1 in 4 children in America doesn’t know where their next meal is coming from. — ConAgra Foods

I used to be a minimalist. While living in New York City, I furnished my apartment by walking the streets on garbage night. But then I got a job and became a consumer, part of our disposable culture. If what you buy breaks, throw it out. It’s cheaper to buy new.

But now I’m trying to retrain my brain to think about what my impulse buys lead to: the toxic chemicals they leak into our landfills, as well as the waste of natural resources like rare metals.

So please join us to help end child hunger, and save our landfills.

Minnesota Bloggers Rummage Sale
100% of proceeds benefit Feeding America through
ConAgra’s Child Hunger Ends Here Campaign
Saturday, May 22, 2010
8:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Highland Park Shelter House
1227 Montreal Avenue, Saint Paul, MN

Will you be there? Or will you donate?

Stuff about stuff

– About 400 million electronic products are thrown out in the United States every year.

– Thirty-six gallons of water are used to grow, produce, package and ship the beans for a cup of coffee.

– More than 100 billion pieces of junk mail are delivered to U.S. households annually.

– The United States constitutes 5 percent of the world’s population but uses 30 percent of its resources.

– The average American produced 4.6 pounds of municipal solid waste each day in 2007.

Source: The Story of Stuff Project — as compiled by SFGate.com

On Tuesday night, The Kitchen Pantry Scientist + I heard Lee Woodruff, author of “Life Changes in An Instant,” speak at Orchestra Hall, thanks to JNBA Financial Services. In 2006, Lee’s husband, Bob Woodruff, suffered a serious brain injury while reporting for ABC in Iraq. And while I left her talk sharing her gratitude for the sacrifices our troops make every day, I wondered if she ever felt resentful.

I look like I can eat her.

Because it wasn’t the first time she’d put her life on hold for her husband. She followed him to China after he graduated from law school, and then went back to work with a 3-month-old baby so he could take a $12K job to follow his broadcasting dream. And then, right when life was supposed to get easier, a roadside bomb struck his army vehicle and left him in a medically induced coma for 36 days, during which she sat beside him, her life on hold again.

I hope I would do the same for my husband, both out of love and obligation. But there are times I’ve felt resentful. And he’s not getting shot at.

While dating

Ever since our kids were born, we’ve shot down different life trajectories. With our first baby, I couldn’t feel the time move, and his momentum reminded me I was stuck. He didn’t quite understand the exhaustion of having to settle a baby throughout the night, and often I lacked the patience to hear how his day went.

First baby

Now we know the time does move, and, as our children grow, the space between us is closing. Each day, I gain more of my old self back. And what I feel now is gratitude that he has the job that he has, and puts in the hours that he does, so I can choose to be at home with our children.

But what if the space between us didn’t close? What if, instead, it was he, or a parent, I must care for throughout the night? How do you find yourself then?

Here’s fellow Minnesotan Nightlight Journey’s recap of the SmartTalk ConnectedConversations event with Lee Woodruff.

Winner is #4, according to Random.org. Congrats, Liz!

We’ve started a new tradition around here of a Sunday brunch. Every few weeks, we invite over friends and their children, and pray to God our kids sit for the meal. And serve caramel rolls. Because our kids will sit until they finish those.

How do you get your kids to sit at the table?

Salted Caramel Sauce, adapted from Simply Recipes:

• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons water
• 6 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• pinch of salt

Mix together brown sugar and water in a saucepan for a “wet sand” appearance. Set on stove. When sugar syrup starts to boil, stir.

When your caramel has reached desired color, add butter. Stir. When butter has emulsified, add cream. Stir, and then add salt as well as vanilla. Remove from stove and pour in a glass container. Store for up to 2 weeks in your refrigerator (a great topping for ice cream as well).

Caution: This stuff is HOT! I’m missing some skin on my tongue.

Caramel Rolls:

• Bread dough
• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Roll out bread dough. Layer butter, brown sugar and cinnamon on it. Roll up and cut into 2″ slices. Place over caramel sauce, and drizzle some on top. Cover, let rise until double.

Bake at 375 for about 20 minutes. Cool before serving.

Win Challenge Butter!

Do you want to make your own caramel sauce? Leave a comment below to be entered into a drawing to win 7 lbs of Challenge Butter. Just think how many meals you could get through with that.

*Contest sponsored by Challenge Dairy. “Real butter makes a difference in everything you cook.” Winner will receive 7 coupons, each good for 1 lb of butter. Winner drawn using Random.org on Friday at midnight. Must reside in U.S.