Twin Cities Ice Cream Delights!

So I found a kind of outdated list of some of the best ice cream shoppes in the twin cities in the Best of Minnesota magazine. It was a list of 11, and of those I had been to 4. Maybe some of you can tell me how the others are and I'll decide which to visit next! Also, feel free to add one to the list! These are in no particular order...

1. Luxury Sweets Gelatoria - Apple Valley
This one we tried to visit after the zoo yesterday, but we found out it must have succumbed to the economic crisis, as it had shut its doors. This greatly vexes us, because we fell in love with gelato while we were in Italy (we spent almost all of our souvenir money on gelato!) and haven't found it in the TC yet. Any tips???

2. Licks Unlimited - Excelsior
This is a fun, small-town ice cream parlor located right on the water front. Lots of homemade flavors to choose from. Plus it has a big mural of a mouth with a giant tongue on the side of the building! I've only been there a few times, but I liked it!

3. Sebastian Joe's - Minneapolis
This one sounds familiar, like I know people who have been there. Recommendations?

4. Crema Cafe - Minneapolis
Haven't taste-tested this one myself, but I'm always willing to try new ice creams :)

5. Adele's - Excelsior
Here's another one on the waterfront of Lake Minnetonka. I like the atmosphere of this one better than Lick's - you have lots of pretty scenery and lots of delicious flavors to choose from!

6. Edina Creamery - Edina, Minnetonka
I know one of these is on 50th and France. Not too far from me. Maybe I'll have to go visit!

7. Grand Ole Creamery - Minneapolis
This was pretty yummy! As the name suggests, it's very creamy! Plus it's right on Minnehaha Pkwy so you can enjoy a scenic drive as you lick your cone!

8. Glacier's Custard - Wayzata
If it's in Wayzata, it has to be a very "rich" custard, right? Oh hahahaha! I'm so funny!

9. Izzy's Ice Cream - Saint Paul
Never heard of this one. Anyone been there?

10. Pumphouse Creamery - Minneapolis
Another one I haven't heard of. Sounds good though!

11. Liberty Custard - Minneapolis
Ok. So I live right across the street from this one and it's my favorite. They remodeled an old garage 50s-style and their custard is super good! I eat there way too often!

There's the list! Feel free to add your own! (Chain ice cream doesn't count, by the way, i.e. Dairy Queen or Culver's)

Englebert Shahoof Gill

Here's a look at our second little girl :) After 3 ultrasounds (a fourth tomorrow before we leave on our trip) we've determined that everything is finally normal and that she is, most certainly, a girl! I didn't post the very telling picture, but you can see it on Facebook if you want. In the first picture you can see the profile of her head, her little nose, and her little lips! So perfect! In the second "4-D" picture, her arms are crossed in front of her face, but you can see her little nose and mouth sticking out from under her hands.

I obtained a copy of my prenatal records to take with us on our trip to Central Asia. Reading through them was a riot! Apparently her lung parenchyma has normal echogenicity! Who knew?! My favorite was reading about my own physical exam at the beginning of pregnancy. When commenting on the shape of my pelvis, they said, "Tested to 8 lbs 11 oz." That's right. That was Abi's birth weight. I like how it was "tested" for that weight, like a bridge might be tested up to 10 tons. haha! But the best line of the physical exam was under the General portion: "Pleasant pregnant female, alert, cooperative and well-groomed."

WELL GROOMED! Indeed, I am.

Elmo and Jesus: A Morning of Learning

A couple weeks ago I needed to get some chores done so I flipped on Sesame Street and for the first time, Abi sat and watched the whole thing. Little did I know this would begin her strange love affair with Elmo the little red monster. I want to take this opportunity to say that I didn't push Elmo on her or try to entice her into liking Elmo in any way. It was of her own initiative. As my friend Danielle says, "Elmo is like crack for toddlers." Ever since then we watch Sesame Street most mornings. This past Thursday (besides watching NBC's Brian Williams wear a clip-on tie and eat Oscar the Grouch's anchovy icecream sundae) we watched the number of the day be introduced: the number 20. This particular day they had these little dancing masked-figures slowly wiggle across the screen, each one wearing and saying a number. Jon and I looked at each other. Were they going to go ALL the way to 20? This would take a while.
"ONE!" wiggle wiggle wiggle wiggle wiggle wiggle
"TWO!" wiggle wiggle wiggle wiggle wiggle wiggle
"THREE!" "TREE!" yelled Abi. I laughed! She copied them!
"FOUR!" "FOE!" this time Abi started wiggling with them. And she repeated most of the numbers after them! The teens were the funnest.
"SIXTEEN!" "SIS-TEE!" wiggle wiggle wiggle wiggle wiggle (Abi twirls and wiggles in circles)
"SEVENTEEN!" "SEH-TEE!"

At this point I started to tear up. She was learning! As a woman with a teacher's heart, this was just a miracle to watch. My own child learning to count! I was so proud! But this would be nothing compared to what would happen next.

Elmo's World came on near the end of Sesame Street and Abi was pretty much entertained, so I sat in my "praying chair" to pray. I started praying quietly to myself and Abi looked over at me and immediately toddled over with her hands clasped and asked me, "May-men?" which is Abi's word for "Amen." She was asking me if I was praying. I said, "Yes, mommy is praying." She reached her arms up at me and said, "Up? Up?" So I lifted her up on my lap and she turned away from the TV, folded her hands and bowed her head. I continued praying - I just happened to be praying for Abi. She sat quietly until I finished and then she repeated my Amen, "May-men" and slid off my lap to continue to watch Elmo. Then I started to pray for Jon. As I began to pray for him quietly, Abi once again toddled her way over and asked me again, "May-men?"
"Yes, mommy is praying again."
"Up? Mama, up?"
So I lifted her up and she once again folded her hands and bowed her head. But this time as I started to pray quietly, she started to speak softly along with me, her hands folded. And though I never told her I was praying for her daddy, I could tell she was nonetheless. Her prayer sounded something like this:

"bah-bee-zho-nay-lee Daddy mah-tay-oh bah-bah see-mamoh Daddy tay-wah."

My tears were streaming down my cheeks as she prayed in my arms. She didn't notice when Elmo started waving bye-bye from the TV. When I finished and I said, "Amen," she repeated "May-men," and slid off my lap. I cried as I realized the most important lessons she could ever learn in life she was learning right along with her ABC's and 123's.

NEW Adventures in the Life of Brenda #12: Realizing My Dream

I was driving home from church last week and we were stopped at a stop light. I looked in the rear-view mirror and this is what I saw:

My beautiful daughter sleeping in her carseat. My heart swelled. I could hardly hold in all the love! I realized I was living my dream - I'm a mother! Happy Mother's Day to me!!

The Greatest Place on Earth...

THE CHILDREN'S MUSEUM!

We took a trip as a family during Jon's spring break to the Children's Museum in Saint Paul. We had a GREAT time! Next year, we might invest in a membership. We left early in the morning with very detailed directions of how to get to the parking ramp near the CM. We had also printed off directions of how to get back onto I-94. We always get hopelessly lost in Saint Paul.

We started in the "World Works" section of the building, where kids can put on light shows, play with water, and manipulate kid-friendly machinery like pulleys and conveyor belts. It was like a basic introduction to physics. Abigail was most fascinated with the water. Maybe it was because we started with it and she was getting tired by the time we got to the later exhibits, but she loved splashing in the water! She's always loved baths, and her newest thing is staking out the bathroom waiting for someone to walk by so she can pester them until they lift her up to "wash her hands." Jon loved to show Abi how things worked and he gave her confidence to try new things on her own. (It takes a little prompting to get Abi to be independent.)

Next we visited the "Our World" exhibit which featured a mini city bus, a restaurant, a grocery store, a post office, and other places in our community for the kids to role play in. This area was a little too old for Abigail, but she did enjoy putting things in her grocery cart! She pushed it around and around until she got stuck in a corner and couldn't figure out where to go from there :)

From there we went to "Habitot" which was like a big indoor toddler-sized activity gym! There were two levels and several areas that were broken into different animal habitats. A woodsy area that included a swinging bridge (which scared Abi at first, but she got the "swing" of it!), a cave area which included crawl spaces and a cave with fossils in it to touch, a frozen tundra area where you could stand on a frozen pond and look at the fish under your feet and build with igloo blocks (Abi mostly liked looking out the window), a prairie section with rolling hills to try to walk up and down, and a lake area (where babies lay around and look at the fuzzy cat tails!) It was here that Abi started to get a little tired. But we helped her out the best we could, and she did enjoy the slides and she even climbed a rope ladder!


The last exhibit we visited was "Earth World." We will probably start here next time, because I think she will really enjoy this! There's a little creek with pretend amphibians to play with as well as an aquarium. There's a big ant hill maze that Jon went through with her and a tree house area where some of the workers will have real animals on display for the kids to see and touch. Abi got to touch a snake! Don't worry, we put some of the anti-bacterial goo on her afterwards!! We didn't get to stay at this exhibit long before Abi started to get cranky, so we made our way out the door for lunch.

We went across the street to Mickey's Diner (a historical landmark in Saint Paul, and if it's not it should be! It's a 50's diner/grille located in an old dining car.) Since it was Saint Patrick's Day, we got to watch a bunch of people walk by wearing funny clothes - including a very old man in a green suit & top hat and orange socks! They were making their way to the parade which we didn't get to see. We'd pressed Abi enough for one day...time for a nap!

Adventures in the Life of Abigail #2: I Discover Bubbles!

Hi! It's Abi again! This year for Easter I wore a pretty dress and a bow and lacy socks and little white shoes that went klopp-klopp-klopp when I walked around. I was sooooo pretty! Nana Gill gave me an Easter basket with presents inside! Chocolate and Bubbles!! I really really really really like bubbles! Especially when they land on my face! Especially when they land in my mouth! Nana and Mommy took turns blowing the bubbles!

I just loved the bubbles so much!

Love Blossoms in the Snow

Here's an update on our built-in love days in the winter! My birthday and Valentine's Day!

For my birthday, Jon took me out to Famous Dave's: my favorite restaurant. I love BBQ sauce!

This was our favorite sign. We will have one hanging in our home.

I ordered ribs - my favorite food!!

Stop looking at me, swan!!

Then we went ice skating at Centennial Lakes in Edina. Best ice skating ever! Cheap rentals and you skate on the lake with all the beautiful lights AND you're outside! The warming house has delicious cocoa and wood burning fire places, too!

Here's a view of only part of the lake. It's actually about 3 or 4 lakes all connected by canals, so you can skate all of them! And they're super smooth!

Jon shows me his amazing skills.

I pretend I'm awesome.

I'm coming to get you!!

Valentine's Day found us at a Persian restaurant called Shiraz just down the block from us on Nicollet Ave. We found their food to be very authentic and very affordable! AND VERY DELICIOUS!!!

Jon cuts into his kabob. Mmm...meat!! EAT MEAT! (In the foreground you can see a little bowl of Oliviya salad which I had eaten many times in Uzbekistan. It brought me right back!)

The decor was fabulous. Over our table hung a Persian rug, but each table and booth had a different Persian centerpiece to admire.

A belly dancer weaved through the tables all night. She was very graceful and talented.

Here's our dessert: Jon ordered icecream flavored with rose water, pistachio, and saffron. I had the bakhlava, a persian/turkish pastry with honey.

At some point during the night, a big group (like 30 or more!) of Iranians came in speaking Farsi. It was so neat to be eating amongst them as they sipped their tea and yogurt drink, embraced, and cheered on the belly dancer. Jon and I felt like we were in another country without the hassel of visas and expensive plane tickets! It was a wonderful Valentine's Day experience and we highly recommend the restaurant!