Happy July!

So... I've been busy and trying not to think about the long wait of our ultrasound.
But, it happened on Tuesday, finally!

And both babies are doing great!!! They were measuring about 1 day ahead of schedule (and can go +/- 1 week at any time.) Their heart rate was 178 (A) and 176 (B) beats per minute. They looked good, and my visit went ok.

Our Facebook Announcement

So, we blasted the news on Facebook, etc.  It was just too hard to keep secret. Weston has known for over a week. He took it really well, but is pretty much over it now. :)

So the babies are good. I, on the other hand, am not. I found out at my OB appt that 3 of the 4 regular medications that I am on, are not good for our babies. I immediately stopped one of the blood pressure pills and was scheduled for an emergency appt with the Endocrinology Center at Mercy on Wednesday morning. All of my diabetics medications have been stopped. I am now on Insulin Pens 4 times a day, but it will most definitely increase. That was the huge difference. Being told by my family doctor that my numbers are good, and then suddenly finding out that even my best number isn't good enough was just devastating. I want to do all I can to give these babies a healthy start. And feeling like I wasn't given the right information off the bat... it's so frustrating. But, while I have a long way to go, and I'm not close to where I need to be yet, I do feel like I am on my way. I really liked the Endocrinologist and the Diabetic Educator. And I think that's a great start!

So, we had an uneventful 4th of July. Scott had to work, so Shannon and I took Weston to the Altoona Aquatic Center. And she and I both got sunburned pretty badly. It's like the sunscreen doesn't even work anymore. Today I went to work while Scott stayed home with Weston. There's talk of a movie or maybe a trip to the playground at the mall. Whatever they do, it will be awesome. Tonight we're having dinner with friends and in the morning, Shannon and I are headed to the Des Moines Farmer's Market, finally! It's going to be a low-key, healing weekend. I need to get my kitchen in order. I need to the get the house in order, we have babies coming. :)

What it takes to get to a New Year

 We had a very long, but very good Christmas with both sides of our families. I forgot to take the camera to Cherokee for the Jones Christmas, but suffice it to say that we all came home spoiled.  Here are some of my favorite pictures from our holidays, all taken with my new DSLR Canon Rebel T3 camera, which is a learning experience:

Jolly Holiday Lights at the Des Moines Waterworks Park, 12/14/12

The view across the water - beautiful!
Jolly Holiday Lights at the Des Moines Waterworks Park, 12/14/12

all proceeds benefiting the Make-A-Wish Foundation, a cause I have volunteered for many times before.
Jolly Holiday Lights at the Des Moines Waterworks Park, 12/14/12

Weston and his Shanny
Jolly Holiday Lights at the Des Moines Waterworks Park, 12/14/12

 Daycare Nativity Program, 12/18/12

Weston as Joseph tickling Baby Jesus' feet, mid program!
 Daycare Nativity Program, 12/18/12

Ornaments on Aunt Linda's beautiful Christmas Tree!
Christmas Eve 2012

Weston's beautiful face - he waited as long as he could for his cousins to arrive!
 Christmas Eve 2012 

DICE GAME!!!
Christmas Eve 2012

Beautiful Ladies!
Christmas Eve 2012

Mom posing for the camera
Christmas Eve 2012

My niece Paisley looking adorable.
Christmas Eve 2012

See no Evil, Hear no Evil, Speak no Evil
 Christmas Eve 2012

"Attack-Thank you-Hug for Aunt Linny from Paisley
 Christmas Eve 2012

the beautiful children
Christmas Morning 2012

As you can see, we had a wonderful holiday. Scott worked ridiculously hard over the holiday week - it's high Liquor season in Iowa, so he was working as many as 15 hours a day. We traveled to Cedar Rapids on Saturday, Dec. 22nd. On Sunday, we all traveled to DeWitt, Iowa for the Dalton Family Christmas. It was a lot of fun seeing the extended family, but Scott had to leave at 4:30 and make the 3 hour drive back to Des Moines all alone, while Shannon, Weston and I went back to CR with the family. We celebrated Christmas Eve at Aunt Linda's, with Weston anxiously waiting for his cousins to arrive. Scott worked all day Christmas Eve and drove back to CR, arriving after midnight - making for a very long day. Christmas Day was spent at our parents' house. It was chaotic and somewhat tense, and just crazy. As all family holidays end up being. Mom wiped the floor with all of us at our family Dice games - and that just drove us all crazy.  ;)

I turned 33 years old on the 26th. Ugh - mid-thirties... I wish you would love me more. But we all celebrated with Burgers and such at north end Field House pub, a great Iowa Hawkeyes hangout in Cedar Rapids. It was fun. We ended up back at Mom's for homemade birthday cakes for both Nathan and I (his 30th birthday is Jan. 4th.) Gifts were exchanged, and wonderful! Nathan and his family headed East, while my little group headed West - back to work we went.

This past weekend, we enjoyed our family Christmas with Scott's family. We couldn't travel until Saturday due to additional snow and ice on Friday. But it was a lot of fun. I think the Lumberjack Beanie cap with the attached crocheted beard that I got Scott's great-nephew Dalton, was the most talked-about gift! It was hilarious!

New Years was another low-key event. Scott once again had to work all day, and into the evening on New Years Eve. Shannon and I took Weston to see Rise of the Guardians - which was awesome! He and I then went to an early dinner with our friends, and enjoyed a mini game night at their house. We made it home by 9:00 to ring in the New Year with Scott - twice. Once at 11pm, thinking Weston was going to crash, and again at midnight as I was crawling into bed with a suddenly wide-awake little boy. Today, 1/1/2013 has been more low-key. In fact, if it weren't for the Rose Bowl Parade, the Shrimp Cocktail, and the Welches Sparkling Grape Juice, I'd have thought it was a Sunday. Though I'm so glad that today is Tuesday, and we have have a short work week, with a boring weekend at home. It's nice to have no plans.

I hope that 2013 brings health and happiness to everyone reading this. I hope that it brings you new possibilities.

For my family, I hope that 2013 brings a new baby into our family. I hope that my sister finds someone worthy of her love and partnership. I hope that my brother and his family find peace and a place to settle into a new healthy, happy life. I hope that my mom continues to be cancer-free, and that she and my Dad enjoy their life. I hope that my Uncle David finds good health and healing from 2012, and that he and my Aunt Linda continue to enjoy the life that they have made. I hope that Scott's nephew Jeremy and his wife Charlie welcome a healthy baby in the coming weeks. This pregnancy has been hard on Charlie and I hope that everything from here on out gets easier for them. I wish for health and happiness for both extended sides of our families, those in NW Iowa, and those in Texas, Georgia, and New Jersey.

For my friends, I wish health and happiness. For our friends April and Glen, I wish a successful and wonderful birth of their first baby in the next few weeks. (Can't wait to meet that baby!) For our other friends, I wish babies in their future just as much as I wish for a baby in our family. For all others, I wish health and happiness.

Ok... enough of the novel. I hope 2013 is a great year for us all!

Storm of the...

It's being hailed as the Storm of the Century - 2012!

We've gone something like 279 days without a measurable snow fall. Mother Nature is pissed. We're in a Blizzard Warning until Thursday afternoon. I keep hearing something like 8-11 inches. Seriously?

A Shepherd, Joseph, a Wise Man, and Mary walk into a Stable - what is Mary looking at?
The Nativity Practice at Weston's Daycare.

Weston's school program is scheduled for Thursday night at 6pm... and there is talk of moving it to Saturday at 10 am... except we're leaving for Cedar Rapids and Clinton at 9am on Saturday. Not sure what to do about my Little Joseph... he's worked so hard. It's such a fun time, this is our 5th year!

And let's be honest - I am not ready for a snow day. I'd have to take it unpaid. But I don't want to be on the road with people. And I wanted to have my brakes replaced by now. Go slow, I guess.

I hope everyone stays safe and warm - we're going to be wrapping Daddy's presents, finishing my nieces' gifts, trying to watch The Polar Express, and scouring the pantry for inspiration for a dessert for our extended family Christmas on Sunday. (something that can be made Friday, served Sunday, and survive transportation.)

Here's hoping that Santa will also have time to do some wrapping.

Fun new iPhone apps, using Halloween 2012 as inspiration!

Halloween 2012 seemed to go on forever!

This year, we visited the Blank Park Zoo for their Night Eyes event. For a small amount of money, we got to Trick or Treat at the Zoo! Each of us, including adults, got a bag full of candy, and we saw the few animals that could handle our cold weather. Weston wanted Scott to be a frog, and me to be a "One-Eyed Girl Monster." As promised, here's a picture. I built these 2 costumes in about 3 days. Not bad. I think I was channeling Celia from Monsters, Inc. minus the snakes.  We had planned on wearing the costumes again on Beggar's Night here in Des Moines, but it was too cold. (Beggar's Night is what the locals call Trick or Treating, and it's rarely on October 31st. This year it was on the 30th.)

the Frog, One-Eyed Girlie Monster, and Captain America at Night Eyes in the Blank Park Zoo. 10/19/12

So, between Beggar's Night and the actual day of Halloween, we had a lot of fun. But, I also received my new iPhone 4 upgrade from AT&T. I thought it would be cooler than it was, but it wasn't. Apparently the phone I wanted was the iPhone 4S. I didn't get Siri or any of the cool upgrades. In fact, the only improvement over my iPhone 3G was the 5 mega pixel camera with flash and front lens, a huge improvement over the lens-less 1.2 mega pixel camera on the 3G. So, to get over my disappointment, I downloaded some new Apps. These 3 apps were recommended by a website reference on Pinterest. I combined all of our activities over 2 days, including the pictures my brother shared of my nieces!

•  PicFrame - you guessed it... It creates frames! Which I've been trying to figure out for months! you can changes the qty and ratio of sizes, colors, etc.
• Phonto - This allows for type or symbols to be added to any photo/project. It's got a great choice of fonts, colors, sizes, etc.
• Picfx - this one lets you edit square pictures by using a variety of filters... and you can layer the filters too! I really like the Vintage set, and the Light set which gives me the fun flashes of light, including the small hearts I used with the girls.
• Postagram - This may be the coolest one! This allows you to send a Postcard with a removable "Instagram" type photo (or any below) to anyone who can receive snail mail. You create a stamp, add a small comment, and off it goes. I sent the one of the 3 great-grandkids from Halloween to my grandparents in San Antonio. Cost - $0.99 each, but you get 5 for free when you sign up!

My first "frame"! Clockwise from top right: My Halloween headband, Paisley dressed as Strawberry Shortcake, Weston as Captain America, Zoey as Miss Frankie Stein (Monster High), Trick or Treating with Weston's friend Lily, and my fuchsia lace tights and (according to Weston) witch shoes.

I framed and used the "small hearts" filter from PicFx to create this collage of my nieces for my brother. I texted it to him so he could load it on his Facebook page.

This is the Postagram picture that I framed and used Phonto to add the text and the stars to send as a postcard via snail mail to my grandparents in San Antonio.

   I am loving these new apps!!! And I will be upgrading my music to Spotify probably tonight or tomorrow so that I can have more room on the this phone. Right now, I can't even take pictures, I am out of so much room.

life keeps going

So... we've spent a week discussing the decision that had to be made. Every time I told Scott that we needed to talk, he knew exactly to what I was referring. And that felt like a first. So, I hope that it was on his mind as much as it was on mine. Scott wasn't as helpful as he thinks. He's very "Pro Woman" which means that he's pro-my-choice-for-my-body. So I am responsible for all the decisions concerning conception, since it all happens in my body. And I should be grateful for this, and the support he gives me, but in all selfishness, I just wanted someone to make the decision for me. When Scott didn't do that, and insurance wasn't screaming one way or the other (both options are covered), I went with my gut. We're going to go through with the laproscopy to clean the Endometriosis from my body. It's less time off of work, less money, and as my mom said, "Maybe it's best to get rid of the bad stuff from your body." And she's right. We're going to start fresh. I'm thinking that they will schedule for the 9th of November. I should know more in a day or 2 when I get my monthly reminder that I'm not pregnant and can call and schedule. (I'm not pregnant. I don't feel pregnant, and I took a test last night to satisfy my curiosity.) The 9th is the weekend we had planned to go to Sioux Falls to the butterfly garden for Scott's mom's 83rd birthday. I am looking forward to going... but if the surgery is that Friday, I am packing my boys off to go without me. Mainly so I can sleep uninterrupted post surgery. My mom isn't happy about it. But it's what's going to happen I think. I think it will be best for everyone.

So... while my brain was constantly running 100 mph, life went on. We had a huge weekend of super excitement. Here's some pictures:

Friday night, we went Trick or Treating at an event called Night Eyes at the Blank Park Zoo. We bought advanced tickets, so it only cost me $12 for the 4 of us. And we came home with 5 bags of candy, totally worth it! It got dark very quickly, and it was so much fun! We met our friend Elle there with her grandparents, and she and Weston held hands and just really enjoyed the night. Shannon dressed as a Peacock, I was a Girl Monster, and Scott was a Frog. Obviously, Weston chose Scott's and my costumes, but I made them in 2 days, and I rocked it. :) I need more pictures of those, but Shannon's peacock was beautiful!  We toured the zoo (only the big cats were out), rode the train and the new carousel, and the kids played in the inflatable wonderland of giants slides and bounce houses... they weren't afraid of anything!

Captain America (Weston) and the Lady Bug (Elle) hatch from an Ostrich egg at Night Eyes at the the Blank Park Zoo.

 On Saturday, we met up with our friends April and Glen, and joined Weston's daycare families at the Center Grove Orchard and Pumpkin Patch in Cambridge, Iowa. It's the best Orchard around, and takes about 25 mins to get there. It has a school house, petting farm, corn pool, jumping pillow, mazes, hay rides, and a giant slide! Plus apple and pumpkin picking and a store. Too much fun!

Shannon at Center Grove Orchard, Cambridge, Iowa.

Weston measuring how tall he is: 42 inches!!! Tall enough for all roller coasters and giant slides!

After riding the Giant slide with their daddies, Weston and Meleinna wanted to ride alone, and Lily wanted to ride with Weston! So they went together and side by side with Meleinna - it was awesome and frightening all at the same time!

We had a great weekend and are gearing up for our holiday season. I love this time of year with my family!

5 Great Loves of my life

I was inspired by CJane's post on the 5 greatest Loves of her life in honor of Valentine's Day. Granted she is posting a "Love" per day. I will probably post all five in a single post. Or not. Who knows? It depends on how long this ends up being.

That being said, CJane's post caused me to do some soul searching, and this caused me to have some seriously odd dreams last night - involving a few of my "loves." So, let's begin:

#1. Erin as a Stalker...

I could easily start my great loves with my first kiss. But in the grand scheme of things, Tom Peterson was not a great love. He was my first high-school boyfriend, and a pretty good kisser, but I always knew it would end. You see, I always knew that Tom was just a little too “nerd” for me. He was an okay boyfriend: someone to go to dances with, hang out with, make out with, but I was already in love with someone else. Heck, I was already thinking of breaking up with him when I found out he was also seeing someone else. (The forever difference between us was fidelity – I had it. He didn’t.) So let’s go back to the beginning of my first “love.”

Flash back to the Spring of 1992, I was in the 6^th grade at Lyons Middle School. I wasn’t heavy yet, but I wasn’t thin by any means; I was more of a round shape. Soft and already sporting the family’s troublesome acne, I didn’t have a lot of self confidence. I masked this lack of courage by being talkative and loud – not my finest features. And that mask lasted until college. Anyway, back on track. It was probably April or May, and the school play was going on. Something about a Tumbleweed or something. I don’t remember much except an old Western town, soldiers and Indians. I went because my friends were in it. Anousha was an Indian (because she had black waist-length hair) and some other friends had parts. I remember sitting with my friend Beth and laughing at her brother Bryan dressed as a soldier. And then I saw the other soldier… He was tall, and broad shouldered with short dark hair. He seemed so much older than Bryan, though Bryan was in the 8^th grade. His name was Pete Walker, and this was our beginning. I became acutely aware of him, and he had no idea that I existed.

School ended in June and three months went by in a flash. I don’t remember thinking much of Pete Walker during the 7^th grade. I remember seeing him with other girls at dances, but I was obsessed with my own existence (and Bob Cleppe. I always kept my eggs in a few baskets.)  I forgot about everything older than me during 8^th grade.  It was like Senior Year, round 1; we were the top of the totum pole. Fast-forward to the Fall of 1994. I’m a freshman in high school. And suddenly everything is different: I’m running from class to class all over the school, I’m taking the bus, and I am once again on the bottom of the totum pole.  But things start to look up. I’m a year ahead in math, so when I entered Dr. Dennis’ geometry class I was one of a few freshmen surrounded by sophomores. I took the seat next to my friend’s older sister. As the class begins, we pass back the intro sheet and I turn around to hand it to the person behind me, and who do you think it is? Yep, Pete Walker, except now Pete is even taller and more broad shouldered. He says “Hey” and “Thank you,” while looking directly into my eyes. And I go stupid. My mouth immediately dries up and I can’t even talk. I can feel myself turning bright red and I turn around to face forward. From the corner of my eye, I can see my friend’s sister looking at me like I’ve lost it. Little did I know that Pete and I would sit next to each other in math class for the next 3 years until he graduated. (Thank goodness for not having assigned seating.)

Pete was pretty talkative. And the fact that he got Geometry far better than I did gave me the opening I needed. We became “class friends,” i.e. we’d be friends in class, and occasionally around school, but we didn’t hang out together. And by the time I got high school, Pete was already dating Kara Evans. Kara was petite: shorter than me, but also perfectly proportionate, and beautiful. It’s like she had never seen a blemish. She was the editor of the newspaper the 2 years we went to school together. She was a year older than Pete, thus 2 years older than me. And she was Nice. To everyone. I had no choice but to hate her, which was hard, but I did my best. (Anyone else weirded out by how much I remember 17 years later? OMG.)

My (and often my passengers') view of the Walker house.

Pete and I had English and math classes together. I watched him play football and basketball. I pined for something more than bantering and having fun in class. I had to drive past his house in order to get home from anywhere South of my house. He lived blocks from my bff Anousha. Once I got my license, I drove past his house anytime I was remotely close by, even with friends or my sister in the car. My friends knew how I felt, and they didn’t give me too hard of a time for the public stalking by vehicle, considering that Pete lived across the street from the Courthouse, police station, and jail. My Junior year (and his Senior year) I heard than Pete and Kara had (finally) broken up when she went off to college. I was elated. It was obviously not his decision. That didn’t damper my mood. I was convinced that everything would work out the way it was meant to. We would be high school sweethearts, and it would be like an after-school special. Alas, this was never going to happen.

In the fall of 1996, my foot was broken while messing around with some friends. I was on crutches forever. And Pete volunteered to carry my books to most of my classes. At first, I thought it was because we got out of class early, but it never was. We talked the whole time; he kept pace with my gimpy-ness. I have never been so happy to be on crutches. I thought that this was the perfect time for something, anything, to happen. But it never did. Eventually I was healed, and I no longer needed a hero. A few months later when I fell and broke my wrist, he had a good laugh at my klutziness, and offered to once again carry my books. But since I could walk, the teachers never fell for it. And so it went for the rest of the year. We talked, but nothing more ever happened. Pete had to know how I felt. Or at least have an idea. I was completely obvious. Either that, or he thought I had some special needs. (Cue the Homer Simpson “D’Oh!” moment.)

Pete Walker graduated from Clinton High in 1997. He went away to college, I thought he went to the University of Iowa, but I can’t remember. Every weekend and holiday, I drove past his house. Sometimes I saw him, more often not. In the fall of 1998, I started at Drake University. I didn’t forget Pete. I still drove past his house on holidays home. And then I heard he had moved to Colorado. And that he had become a plumber. His parents sold the house and moved somewhere else within town. The new owners changed things. And suddenly (without social media) he was gone. And I had to find a Real person to fall for. But the idea of Pete Walker lives on in my heart - My first real crush. And if you ask my sister, it lived on well into my 20s, over a decade of Crush-ness.

So this will be a post of only One Great Love... my first, unrequited Love. Who knew it would take so long to write?

resolutions to revelations

Happy 2012!!!

  I am hoping to be a better blogger this year. Then again, I am hoping to have more time to write and more to talk about. My graphic design business has stalled a bit. One because I am so busy with the new job and holidays, and two, because I am waiting for good high-quality pictures for the job I am currently designing.

  Right now, my little family is trying to just settle into the New Year. Post holidays, we’re trying to be home more and to get more organized, and to work more on our family. I want to be a better wife and mother. I really want to be less tired than I have been in the last year. I want to be “there” for Weston. And I am trying really hard to make the time to play. If it means waiting to eat dinner until 8pm… so be it. It’s not like Weston is eating right now any way. (And he’s not. He eats when he’s hungry. So, he’s fine.) And speaking of Weston, he is now more than ½ my height. Which is crazy! At this rate, he’ll be taller than me by the time he’s 8 or 9. I’m sure the growing will slow down, but I still think he’ll pass me by sometime around 10 or 11 years old. Right now he’s learning about Dinosaurs and Paleontologists. And our daycare is so amazing! Yesterday, Weston and his fellow Paleontologists did a field study outside (thank you 60 degree day in January!) and they “dug” up dino bones. (Cut from paper) and their most exciting find was deer poop in the field. Kids. J So, it’s Dinosaur mania in our house.

  Scott is working, and finally getting home at a decent hour, now that the liquor-fueled holidays are over. He’s hurting a bit… not sure what he plans to do about it. But I’d love for him to feel better soon. Maybe with his chiropractor finally back from a 2 week vacation, he can get his body fixed. These weekends at home are helping too.

  I started my new job at RCS Millwork last week. And on days when I am busy, it’s great. I feel so productive and useful. And then the days when the Project Managers forget that I am here, and they do everything by themselves… well those are the days that I want to fall asleep. And it’s so warm in this office, that if I am not careful, I Will Fall Asleep. Oops.

  I will close with a little insight from a toddler: This has been the best week with Weston in a while. Not that he isn’t great in general; it’s just that this week he has been especially poignant and just plain fun. Case in point: Saturday we had a movie night. He wanted to be in our bedroom and he wanted Auntie Shannon to be with him. So she went. They were watching Curious George and discussing anatomy. Where’s your brain? Weston points to his head. Where’s your heart? Weston points to his chest. And then he says,

“If someone hurts your heart, you might cry.”

Yep. Very astute for my 3 year old, though he’s usually logical. on Monday, we played puzzles, and cars, and in a tent, and wrestled with his 4’ tall stuffed Frog named Phreddie. (Phreddie won.) And when Daddy came home, Weston played with him too. Last night at Shannon’s, he kept making the best faces. And then we played with her Melissa & Doug puppet named: Cupcake (Shannon), Strawberry Shortcake (Weston), and Janice (by me, because she looks like Janice from Animal’s rock band on the Muppets.) It was high-larious! Though the funniest part was when Weston spoke in a high voice for the puppet. I need to get the video from Shannon. Yes, it’s on video.

  My point is this… life is constantly changing. Sometimes for the worse, hopefully for the better. I resolve to try and look at 2012 as a year where things are Good. Things don’t have to be great. But so long as everyone is happy and healthy for the most part, then I will love Good. And I will be satisfied.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Shannon's picture of her side of the table. Isn't Nathan's turkey beautiful? That rainbow thing at the top is my my Jello mold. It was tasty too.

Ok... So I am a bit late. But in my defense I have been very busy.

We headed to Clinton Wednesday evening, arriving around 9pm. Mom and Dad were home, and very excited to see Weston. I went to work making my Jello Mold. Shannon and Dad headed out to Wal-mart for some last minute buys. 

Linda and David arrived at our house around 9am Thursday. We headed to Nathan's house in Morrison, Illinois, around 11am. Once there, we played and hugged the little girls and took a tour of their new home. I swear it's twice the size of my $830 apartment for the bargain price of $500 a month. So annoying. And then having to explain to my family why we couldn't have something similar in Des Moines. "Um, yeah, we could, but in Des Moines it would be $1300 a month plus utilities." They don't get that. Then again, none of them understood a $900 mortgage payment either. They think $700 is too much. I wish. Man... if our mortgage payment had been $700 or less... we'd still have a house, and the money to enjoy it. Possibly the money to have another baby. 

Ok... ignore my ramblings, back to Thanksgiving. Nathan made a deliciously 36-hr brined turkey. It literally fell off the bone and onto my plate. I wish i had remembered my camera and had taken pictures; Nathan did that good of a job. He also made a delicious gravy (always a competition in our house) and mashed potatoes. We had the usuals: green bean casserole, California Casserole, Sweet Potatoes, my huge relish trays (1 whole tray of pickles and olives), my Jello Mold,  rolls, and I am sure that there was more. There was dressing (stuffing?) but it didn't make it to the table, not getting done for hours. (Nathan was not happy with Mom's recipe/suggestions.)

Overall Thanksgiving Day was delicious and a lot of fun. I got to play with my wonderful nieces, Zoey and Paisley. Gave all 3 kids baths. Zoey took one look at Weston and was like, "What's that?" OMG... Shannon and I just fell on the floor laughing so hard. 

Shannon and I did the whole shopping thing. Wal-mart at midnight, slept in the car in the Target parking lot from just after 2am to 3:50am. Then we hit Target at 4 (very disappointing) and she and Dad went to Wal-Mart to hit the electronics sale at 5am (Shannon picked up a Wireless Printer for $44.) We crashed into bed at 6 am. Friday was a haze. We ended up going for a ride with Mom and Linda in the afternoon, unshowered! Had a reheat of Turkey-Day for dinner and then Linda and Dave headed back to Cedar Rapids. 

We cam home yesterday afternoon. Stopped in Williamsburg for some sale shopping for Christmas. I spent very little, but did find an amazing deal for Mom's Christmas gift. 

I guess the point of this post is to detail that I had a great Thanksgiving. This year we have a lot to be thankful for. Mom is still with us and fighting Strong. She has become such an inspiration in strength these past 9 months. My wonderful baby boy in growing up to be such a little boy! And it's a huge difference. I miss the baby he was, but am so obsessed with the little person that he is. I am Thankful to have such an amazing family. We stand by each other and do everything we can to help each other out. I realize that this is not common. My family doesn't have a lot. We've had more at times, we've had less at times, but no matter what, we help with what we can, when we can. We don't buy brand-new-off-the-line cars when our family is struggling. It's not who we are. So... I am thankful to have such a loving, giving family. I am thankful that I can help them when I can, even if it's just laughs. 

I hope you all had a wonderful and delicious Thanksgiving holiday. Get ready, Christmas is 23 days away, which means my 31st Birthday (egads!) is only 24 days away.

1st Place!!!

Not the best picture since it's a cell phone and my snakes are crazy, but you get the idea.


Yea!!! First Place, again. 3 out of 5 years! If I had been here on the 3rd year, I bet I would have won then too. Maybe.

Anyway, I got an awesome travel mug, a $10 Target gift card and bragging rights for another year. I am thinking of taking it easy next year... yeah right. :)


Happy Halloween!!! More pictures to follow soon.

Halloween is this Sunday. I am dressing as Medusa for work tomorrow. I am quite excited about it. I hope it works as I intended. I have super-glued my hands together more times than I can count. But I want to win. This is my 5th Halloween at Onthank, and I've won 2 so far, lost the 2nd year, and missed the 3rd year (and Weston's first) when my father-in-law passed away. I have a reputation to uphold. So far I know that my competition is a nurse, Al from Toy Story 2, and Trinity from the Matrix. I think I can easily beat them. It's the unknowns that I worry about. Tonight I need to finish my Toga, paint my nails Green and figure out my shoes. It's a high of 48 degrees tomorrow... so the shoes are the issue. Also... need to make the Famous Pineapple Spread (Dip) for the potluck. So much to do. Pictures to follow.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!

My Little Lepruchan!

He performs magic and disappears into his hat!

breaking for the weekend

I will be breaking for the weekend. We're heading to Clinton for the weekend for the celebration of February birthdays (Aunt Linda, Zoey, and Shannon.) Hope you are all safe and have a Happy Valentine's Day. Scott and I are hoping to celebrate on the 19th, our shared Furlough day.

For your viewing pleasure... More Weston!

so long tree... Hellllooo Castle Weston!

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I had 4 goals this weekend.

1. Remove all Christmas from our house and reorganize in totes to be placed back into the garage for storage. (The Christmas tree would be in it's own tote.)

2. Put away all of Weston's old (too young) toys while he's napping and put half his toys in his trunk, thus beginning the toy rotation process.

3. Put away all of Weston's clothes that he has outgrown. Anything 12 months and smaller goes into the green totes.

4. Make a decision about how to spend my birthday money: bling or body?

I accomplished only 1.5 of these goals in 3 days. Sad. I know.

1. We got the tree down and put away - mostly. The bottom of the tree is too long for the largest Rubbermaid-ish container than Walmart had. (How is it that fake trees can outgrow their boxes?) hmm... ok. Also, It got too dark for Scott to put everything up in the garage, so we have Rubbermaids scattered in the spare room and the garage.

2 and 3. I tried to put Weston's toys away. It doesn't work. The minute he sees you putting something in a box, he wants it. Now. He will play with it forever. So, I needed to do this while he was asleep. He took naps Saturday, but we were running around town. And then he napped yesterday while I was at brunch with my sorority sisters. (Yes, I said brunch. Doesn't it sound fabulous? It felt fabulous and tasted fabulous. The only thing to make it better would have been Mimosas, but at $4.50 each and tons of carbs, I didn't do it.) And Weston would not go to sleep, so the toys are still out. I never even made it into his room to do his clothes. Not once. I can't even remember changing more than 2 or 3 diapers this weekend. Obviously my husband rocks.

2a. I put up the Castle that my parents got Weston for Christmas. It's a tower, about 4' across. It's taken the place of the tree and it's pretty cool.

4. My birthday money... I spent the weekend looking for a Wii Fit Plus. After being denied by Walmart in Altoona and Sam's Club, I was starting to feel like this was a sign that I should get the Bling. But then, after brunch, I stopped by the Super Target in Urbandale. They had 7 Wii Fit systems. And a new U2's greatest Hits, U218 Singles, which is super-fab. It has all of the songs I know, and none that I don't. Since this is one of the 3 super cds that I need to complete my ultimate Nostalgia Collection, I took this as a sign to buy the Wii Fit and listen to my iPod while working out. :)

So... we now have a 5' tall, 4' wide Castle tower in our living room amongst the scattered toys. Once this is either cleaned up or shoved to the side, I am hooking up the Wii Fit. And I will blog about my usage. I will. Because I am going to use it. My Bling money has to make a difference somewhere if not on my wrist!

Christmas and Birthday

I promise to post something fabulous about our Christmases and my (gasp!) 30th Birthday.
For now... just know that we still have the Jones Christmas in Cherokee this weekend.

Also... I always said that I was pooling birthday money for a memorable 30th birthday tennis bracelet. But... I am contemplating not getting the bracelet and instead getting a Wii Fit. Thoughts? Is it worth the money or should I go with the bling? let me know.

Post Script: I did get one piece of Bling this year... my parents (dad specifically) gave me a diamond tiara ring for my 30th birthday. This way I can be a Princess any day I want to. (tear!) good Dad!

gifts

This year I knew that we had to get our daycare providers a Christmas gift.

They love Weston almost as much as we do. They take care of him, teach him, kisses his owwies.

So, I needed to show them that they are loved too!

I was going to go with a gift certificate to their favorite restaurant, Jasmine Thai in Altoona.

Then I learned that 3 other parents had the same idea.

So I made them a Movie Night Bundle. Something for Kris and Todd and their daughter, Kaylie.

Jingle Bells?

Once upon a Midnight clear...

As Weston and I sat near,

There was a rustling...
what some might call a Jingling,

within our Christmas Tree.

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Since Weston was next to Mommy

there was no way that he was naughty.

He gave me a look as if to say,

"Hey! How come I don't get to play?"

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We crept around our glowing tree

looking for the source of the holiday clatter.

And what should we find was the matter?

(see below)

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Nola... our cat in disguise as the Griswald Christmas Chipmunk!

Christmas pictures

Thanks to our friends, Jason and Rachel Taylor (photographer and creative assistant, respectively) from Taylormade for setting up this impromptu photo shoot in our living room. It was so much easier to do something like this at home. And since this is our last Christmas in our house, it was so nice to see everything look so pretty! Some of the pictures are a little dark, but most turned out nice.
To quote Jason, I made some "artsy," of course I did.

Our Tree... wouldn't guess it was our house!

My fave!
Weston loves the bulbs! Obviously I worked on this one.

Weston, old school portrait style, a little too bright (my fault!)

a little blurry, but the happy couple

our family

fun family picture! (my face looks huge!)

Weston and Mommy... love this one too.

our holiday card, thank you Walgreens!

time to get ready...

It's time to start decorating for Christmas. Everyone I know already seems to have their trees up and ornaments on and everything done. Our stuff is still in the garage. Oops. A little behind. I really need to get started. Since this is probably our last Christmas in this house, I feel like I should go all out. You know? The big tree, the wreaths, every little thing to make Weston want to pull something over onto his head. :) He was afraid to touch the tree at Mom and Dad's last weekend. He would talk to it, ask us questions about it, and point at it, but even when pushed to do it, he wouldn't touch it.

So... I am in the Christmas Spirit. I want to put up my tree and be happy about it. I want to decorate my house and pretend that everything is fine. In the Spirit of "Everything's Fine" I have put up my first tree at Onthank. It's not much. In fact, it's $5 worth of Happiness from the Target Dollar section, but I just love it. I actually want some tinsel or maybe a few more ornaments. I totally plan on raiding the Rubbermaids at home for more tree decorations. But still, it brightens most people's day when they see it. And it's totally bright and cheery, nothing for a home tree (too disco) but fabulous for work. I am trying to get into the mood! And I will asap. By the way, our garage is so cold right now (it's like 35 degrees outside) that I feel bad having Scott spending significant time out there in the dark cold since he doesn't get off work until after 7pm. But how else am I going to get my tree up? Volunteers to climb around my garage?