Embrace the chaos

Happiness Project and One Little Word - 2012

2012-01-10T08:18:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year! Year end work is in full swing for me at Aviva Investors; therefore, I have been quite distracted from setting New Year goals )and from working on taking the Christmas tree down).....

Anyway, I have been working on reading the Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin and have also been thinking about picking "One Little Word" to concentrate on for 2012. It all came together for me last night....my word is GRATITUDE, and I am going to start a gratitude journal as part of my own Happiness Project.

There was a recent news story about a local high school girl losing her battle with an inoperable brain tumor that first made me prayer for strength for her family, then, count my blessings. Then, news on one of the blogs I read regularly of a couple seeking divorce made me count my blessings twice. No matter how the messy house irritates me or how the sassy kids annoy me, I am blessed. I believe keeping this Gratitude journal will provide a daily reminder of these blessing and , in the end, lead to greater awareness of all I have to be happy about in life. I also hope this leads to me sharing my Gratitude with those closest to me and leads to a healthier and happier 2012 for all of us.

Holiday dance and Christmas cookies

2011-12-17T22:16:00.000-08:00

The day was packed with fun today. Skylar had to dance in the Christmas recital at the Rec Center today. She was in the pom pom dance as well as the Cousin Trio competition dance. Halle and Sydney also performed their solo. It was a PACKED house, and I didn't arrive until showtime. I guess I was naive to think it wouldn't be a big deal. Thanks to Jenn and Joell, we still had a seat to sit in , and Skylar got a little blingy eye shadow. They did great! A little more smiling next time, and they are ready for competition. The admission for the dance recital was canned goods. With such a packed house, there was quite a heaping pile of goods donated for the food pantry. Loved to see the Christmas spirit.

We spent the afternoon at the farm frosting sugar cookies. Jenn make the cookies and frosting before we arrive, then the kids go crazy with sprinkles and other goodies. It's always fun to see the "fuzzy" cookies Eliza makes and the artsy ideas Skylar comes up with. We were like a cookie decorating assembly line this year and got them done in 1.5 hours. Love this fun Christmas tradition and so glad to spend some time with Grandma.

We took the kids to see the Alvin and the Chipmunks move after the cookie decorating. Benji and Mitch had their kids and we all went to the show in Perry and took up a whole row in the theater. The movie was definitely more for kids than adults. Eliza and Skylar both liked it better than the first 2 Chipmunks movies. Eliza said, it was AWESOME!

Homemade cards

2011-12-16T20:48:00.000-08:00

I managed to get through another work week! I actually had training at Iowa State University today. It is an annual training that the accounting department puts on and is really enjoyable each year. It is a contemporary issues conference and is taught by professors so feels a little like school again. I know I am a little deranged, but I really liked college, so it is fun to go back.

After training, I ventured to Mary Perry's to hang out for a few hours and work on my Christmas cards....finally. It was so nice to see Mary, Joan, and Karla again and just hang out and laugh. Amazingly, I was productive too. I only had an idea in my head when I arrived. I was really pleased with the results, so I went ahead and made 40 cards. I probably should have gone with 50 or 60, but I will try to remember to plan for more next year.

I used the same stamps and twine I am using for gift wrapping, and I printed my own patterned paper from a design I purchased on etsy.com. I used the new Tim Holtz distress ink colors issued for Christmas and a Tim Holtz silver paint dauber also. Thanks, Mary, for letting me borrow your Tim Holtz label die cut too. Sensing a theme? Gotta love the Tim Holtz products. Here is a picture of this year's card it is a pocket, so the 4x6 photo can be removed and kept after the card is discarded. I love the family photo. Grandpa David took it. We posed in the ravine behind our house on Thanksgiving day before heading to Joell's for dinner. I wanted to get some pictures before the leaves were covered with snow or blackened by frost. I just loved the gorgeous fall colors in the background.

Here are a couple of pictures documenting how I display the cards we receive. I got this awesome plastic clothespin and string kit at the antique store in town 2 years ago. It was already open, so I didn't feel bad about actually using it. I just think it is the cutest.

Exterior Illumination

2011-12-15T20:06:00.000-08:00

Danny has been working hard at the exterior illumination this season. He bought new blue rope lights for the roof that have been up since the week after Thanksgiving. He even put blue light bulbs in the garage lights. He has been waiting to light the peak until the roof was not slick and finished those tonight. We still have to hang the big wreath sometime.

Excuse my blurry pictures (I was shivering)

New Christmas Decor

2011-12-14T21:37:00.000-08:00

I like to buy a couple new Christmas decor items each year. I don't like to spend a lot every year, so I figure a little each year instead will add up to a house full eventually, right?!?!

This year I purchased this silver tree at the flower shop in Woodward I mentioned in an earlier post.

I technically bought this other decoration last year, but didn't frame it or display it until this year. I bought these handmade cards at a Market Day Black Friday sale last year. They were too pretty to send, so I decided to frame them and decorate with them instead. Danny even likes them....my Christmas miracle... : )

Christmas books

2011-12-13T21:19:00.000-08:00

I realized this year that we really didn't have much for Christmas books to read during the holiday season, so when out shopping I grabbed a few new books. Then, Danny bought the girls Bad Kitty Christmas when we were on our Saturday date night.
Eliza has been asking me to read the books in the rocking chair each night with her this week. It really is nice to cuddle and rock and take a moment to relax each night with the girls... Missing the cuddly baby days, so I will soak up all of this rocking time I can still get .

Playing catch up.

2011-12-11T18:19:00.001-08:00

Lots to talk about to catch up since last Monday:

1) Tuesday, Dec. 6th: The girls are really getting good at their Christmas piano songs. Piano practice is one thing I never have to nag the kids to do. They love their teacher and seem to really enjoy the challenge. Skylar has learned the "Sugarplum Fairy" and "Angels we have heard on high". Eliza has learned "Jingle Bells", "Deck the Halls", "Up on the Housetop", and "Angels we have heard on high".

2) Wednesday, Dec. 7th: Eliza had a doctor appt today to look at her tonsils. She had strep throat this year twice already, and the clinic referred us to a specialist. All was well with the appt, and they said, she would have to have strep 5-7 times in one year to seriously consider removing her tonsils.

I spent the day at Aviva in West Des Moines with my new peers in the Aviva USA Finance dept. We went through some team building exercises, talked about 2011 successes and 2012 goals and had a little fun crafting cards for our staff. Turns out 3 of us are scrapbookers. Besides the fun day of comradery, it was fun to see the new West Des Moines building decked out for the holidays. They have several trees decorated in brown and teal in the common areas. Just gorgeous!

3) Thursday, Dec. 8th: Christmas present wrapping finally began. I had this hair brained idea to be really crafty with my wrapping this year. I am using mailing paper and purchased a tag pattern and string for the package from small businesses. I found the tag pattern on etsy.com

and the string for packaging on shopolivemanna.com. I also purchased new stamps and ink to decorate the mailing paper. So far the wrapping was pretty fun, but I am sure I will regret this come the week of the 19th when I am still wrapping like a mad woman. I will definitely be cheating with gift bags for some. : )

4) Friday, Dec. 9th: The end of another long work week. We had our annual holiday chili cook off at work. I am not a big fan of chili, so I grabbed a salad for lunch. When I got back I heard people talking about the cinnamon rolls I missed out on. : ( They were already gone when I got back to my desk. After lunch I had back to back meetings again, but when I stopped by my desk next, there sat an awesome huge cinnamon roll!!! When one of my team members went to collect her crock pot, they discovered a hidden box of cinnamon rolls, and she grabbed one for me. YAY!!! Just like a Christmas Angel. It was sticky, sweet, and way too much but sooooooo worth it. The cinnamon rolls from Do-Biz bakery cannot be beat.

After work, Skylar had trio competition practice. Here is a picture of this year's costumes. The song is "ice cream freeze", so we thought these colors in the top looked like Dairy Queen swirls and candy colors. We bought can can skirts because they are performing a clogging routine this year. Very challenging new type of dance for them. Can't wait to see it performed next weekend.
.

After dance I took Sydney and Skylar to our home and Eliza went home with Halle to the Herrick's for a sleep over. It was really quiet at our house, so I think I got the good end of that deal.

5) Saturday, Dec. 10th: Today I planned to build gingerbread houses with the girls and our nieces, Sydney and Halle. We bought supplies when I was grocery shopping last weekend and had the cart 1/2 full with candy of all sorts. The looks we got from other shoppers was pretty funny. I had one of the managers running to check the backroom for mini candy canes, and the check out girl said, "What's the deal? Did you just get paid?" I also stopped by the bakery to order the frosting. We ordered 2.5 quarts of frosting total in white, red, green, and yellow. Let me tell you, the $9.50 price tag is WAY worth it to avoid the pain of mixing the frosting myself with my tiny hand mixer and drops of food coloring. Also, I should actually call them "graham cracker houses", but you can't really tell the difference when they are all covered up with frosting.

Joell came over around 11am and Grandpa David helped as well. Grandpa David always adds to the engineering capabilities of the creations. I should have left the house building to Danny. Every side I made was lopsided and not quite at a right angle. We decided the uncoordinated elves lived in my houses. I did manage to add a candy cane chimney to one of my houses after accidentally making a hole in the roof though. Then, the girls were sort of jealous of Halle because she got the house with a chimney. We had a good time and used lots of imagination. We just kept creating until the white frosting ran out, and the ideas stopped coming. I think more time is actually spent decorating the yard rather than the house. No matter how big the 'yard' is, we manage to fill it up. Here are a few photos.

Danny and I had a date night Saturday evening to wrap up Christmas shopping. I did forget 2 things, but otherwise, we should be done. We mostly had a few gifts to buy for 2 homeless youth I adopted this year along with a military family my office adopted this year. We managed to hit all of the stores we planned and had a nice late dinner at Outback steakhouse.

6) Sunday, Dec. 11th: We had family Christmas in Jefferson for Danny's mom's side of the family planned for today. I volunteered Danny to bring pickle roll-ups, which were still unmade this morning. Needless to say, this did not make a great start to the day. Also, I only bought one package of ham last weekend, and we needed more like 3 packages. So, I started my pasta salad and quickly dressed and ran to the store. I was back home at about 15 minutes before we were supposed to leave. The girls were dressed but running around playing Wii with wet hair and Danny still had pickle roll-ups to make. He pulled it together in record time, and we pulled into the community center in Jefferson right at noon. Don't ask me how we managed to be on time. The meal was great as usual, then we gathered into teams for a couple of fun new games. The best was definitely "flickin chicken" where we all had to throw mini rubber chickens at a large pink target. Too funny...many people had many different techniques. It was very competitive. Here are a few photos of the fun.

We had to have a tie breaker, and Halle was the big winner of the day. Her team won the first game, she won "flickin chicken" , and she also got $10 in her grab bag gift. Winner, winner, rubber chicken dinner as Danny said....

We all bring a small grab bag to open each year as well. Here is a photo of the table. This year, we had to solve a word puzzle to determine which package was ours, and we were able to open gifts right away with no trading. After opening, we shared what our gifts were and told a little bit about what was new for 2011 in each of our lives. It is nice to catch up, and we are thankful that Wanda and Jolene go to so much work to get us all together and get this organized each year. It is a fun kick off to the Christmas season.

Mondays with Eliza

2011-12-05T16:35:00.001-08:00

When I signed Eliza up for gymnastics in Waukee on Mondays while Skylar was in Perry at dance I thought I would be crazy by this time of the year, but I am loving the one on one time with Eliza we have some of the greatest conversations. Tonight was no exception.
Eliza: Daniel hit me today when my legs were still numb after coming in from recess. We had to go to the guidance counselor , and he wrote me an apology note. I accepted his apology.

Mom: Good girl. Why would he hit you?

Eliza: I don't know. I guess I am just going to be the kid who always gets hurt. I got kicked in the face last week. I smashed 3 fingers on the bars today. I got hurt on the merry go round and Daniel hit me. I guess I need a bodyguard.

Mom: What kind of bodyguard? Should we wrap you in bubble wrap or do we need to send a big guy like Daddy to school with you everyday?

Eliza:No....I just need one of my big friends to walk around with me all of the time like Aubrey, Isabel...

PRICELESS!

Christmas sights

2011-12-04T13:38:00.000-08:00

Hanging around home today, so thought I would share a few Christmas decoration photos.

Local Shopping and Santa

2011-12-03T13:27:00.000-08:00

We started the day visiting Santa at the First Christian Church in Perry. The girls each took a photo with Santa, than mom got into the last one. We are never too old to pose with Santa...

Then, I took the girls to Slater for a little local gift shopping. One of my friend Joan's friends had a sale at her home. She makes the cutest bags, mittens, jewelry, pillows, stockings, and other decorative items. The girls and I all found some cute stuff. (and a couple of gifts I will keep as a surprise)

Next we headed back to Perry for an Open House at artist, Betsy Peterson's place. We have one of her creations already, but I was searching for gifts this time. We found one gift(also remaining secret) and the cutest little wooden stars to go on our tree.

Also, we did stop in Woodward on the way home from Slater in a little local flower shop to scope out the Christmas decorations. The girls and I each bought little metal Christmas trees to add to our decor. The girls' trees are brass colored with little green and red decorations, and they put them in their rooms. My tree is a sequined silver and found a home on the back of the piano with some silver, red, and black vintage metal boxes.

I love supporting local businesses, and it was a fun little shopping trip with the girls this season.

Amazon wish lists are wonderful!

2011-12-02T16:32:00.000-08:00

I tried a new technique this year. Amazon wish lists. They are quite slick.

I created a wish list for Danny, myself, and each of the girls for Christmas then shared with Dad and Carol, Mom and John, and Jolene and Neil. It is really nice because they link straight to websites to make the purchases from and allow buyers to mark them as purchased to avoid returns due to duplicates later... It has really been easier than trying to describe "that one pink sparkly outfit in the Justice catalog" to Grandma and Grandpa. : )

http://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/wishlist/3A89J354PN3TB

Then, Dad created one for us to look at for him. What a concept! Wedding and Shower registries have been around for years. Why didn't I think of this idea?

I hope to include the girls' paper wish lists here too, after I scan them.

Advent Calendar

2011-12-01T16:21:00.000-08:00

Well, our Advent calendar is going to be interesting. I made the numbered tins for Dec 1-Dec 24 last year and placed them in a tray for the girls to open each day to find a candy surprise and to countdown the days to Christmas. I was hoping we would be able to put them in a barn wood framed metal board rather than a tray, but Danny wasn't able to finish the barn wood project until after Christmas last year.

Well, this year the frame is done, and it is huge and wonderful! It is made of wood from the old red barn at the Cunningham farm, and I am so happy we were able to repurpose it for such a special purpose. However, the magnets on my Advent tins just aren't going to cut it.... Eliza and I had the tins filled and perfectly arranged, then the cat hit one , and they came tumbling down like dominoes. We rearranged, we slammed the office door, and they came tumbling down like dominoes. We rearranged, took a few pictures, Skylar opened the first tin to collect the prize for Dec 1, she put it back, it fell, and the others tumbled after. She got frustrated and stomped off. Then, I placed them neatly back and Skylar took a couple of pictures of the intermittent dominoes. As of bedtime last night, all of the tins were back in place, but it should be a comical 24 days.

Letters to Santa

2011-11-30T20:30:00.000-08:00

Well, it's been a year since I posted the last time. I have decided that I need to appreciate this Christmas season more and plan to journal and document this season as much as possible. I want Christmas to be as magical for my kids as it was for me. Tonight, the girls wrote letters to Santa , and we sent them in to be considered for publication in the local newspaper. They are precious, so I thought I would share.

Art Auction and Scrapbook weekend

2010-11-15T06:20:00.000-08:00

Well....the art auction was a blast. There was about 140 tickets sold for this auction, and the mingling was fun and spirited.

Several of the artists that donated pieces for the auction demonstrated and spoke about their creative process. One artist from Perry, Betsy Peterson, brought her actual inspiration item and read the poem she wrote as well as the art she created. She is a folk artist and Danny and I love her work. I had never bid at a live auction before, but I couldn't resist. There was a healthy battle with myself and one other, but Danny urged me on. We ended up winning the item for $150. I think that was a reasonable price for one of Betsy's pieces and the money went to scholarships anyway. Such fun!

We also met the Steffen's at the auction. (the couple we bought our house from) They were very nice and personable. We talked to them about some of the things we had done to the place. and they were curious which girl slept in which room. It was nice to meet them in person.

I didn't get much sleep before headed out to pick up Joan and get to a scrapbook retreat in Des Moines on Saturday. It's easy to jump out of bed when you are going to play with your girlfriends though...at least for me. I so needed this girl day. My goal was to get 12 layouts done, relax, laugh often, and do a little retail therapy. Mission accomplished! I am so thankful for my girlfriends. Thanks for the perfect day Joan, Mary, and Karla. Also, thanks for putting up with tired and puncy Gina. : )

Vapooling Day #5

2010-11-12T06:17:00.000-08:00

Well..... we now have assigned seats in the van in the order we get out . It's like stacking clowns in a clown car.

Also, one of the riders volunteered to sing to me. I hope the look on my face did not reflect the thoughts in my head.... I sometimes have that issue. My mouth and my face don't have filters usually. My face must have said something because she didn't end up singing, but WTH!?!?!

Thank goodness it's Friday. Danny and I are headed to a Art auction for the Rotary Club in Perry tonight. Should be a fun date night.

Vanpooling Day 4-Veteran's day

2010-11-11T06:26:00.000-08:00

I didn't ride the van yesterday because I had to be home before 5pm. One of my co-workers didn't think I would go back to the van today after tasting one day of freedom. : )

Well...it was just Marty and I today, but I was there. Admittedly, it was hard to get up after sleeping in about an hour yesterday.

I am glad I rode today though. I found out that Marty is a 23 year Army Veteran. He shared many stories about duties and deployments he had been on. The most touching story was about how he blocked his son from joining , then volunteered for the Gulf War by taking a demotion, so his son was again not eligible. They won't send a son and father. He didn't want his son to go through what he went through.

He left me with the thought that the 4 years he regrets most is the years he recruited. Not because he sensationalized the military but because he sent several soliders to their death. He has lost many friends including one that he was close enough to in order to be at the birth of his triplets.

Thank your veterans today!

Vanpooling Day 3

2010-11-11T06:25:00.000-08:00

They made a Gina sandwich on the way in yesterday. 3 per seat is a little much! Marty, the driver, is looking for a bigger van.

Vanpooling Day 2

2010-11-09T06:18:00.000-08:00

Well, Day 1 on the vanpool last Friday was pretty tame. I didn't talk much because it was early for me, and I hadn't had my Diet Coke yet.

Day 2 is apparently the day I become part of the inner circle because on the ride home, I learned all kinds of drama.

1) We can't share our e-mail addresses with one member because it might get shared with Facebook spam and porn site. : )
2) One van rider quit this week that had been riding for years because she didn't get the seat she wanted anymore.
3) One van rider, who is also a back up driver, is trying to get her own van because she can't sit in the shotgun seat anymore and wants to control where she sits.
4) Years ago one rider jumped over the back seats to assault the driver and cuss him out.

Drama...drama... I haven't really experienced any of these things first hand yet, but find it funny that any group of people put together for a long period of time eventually has tension and dissent. Funny how humans are isn't it?

Vanpooling....

2010-11-08T06:01:00.000-08:00

Well....I have started vanpooling with Rideshare. Aviva will subsidize my commute through Rideshare, so I am saving around $350/month in gas alone not counting the wear and tear on my vehicle I am avoiding.

The crowd I am traveling with are all State of Iowa employees working at the Capital complex downtown Des Moines, so I am a little out of their way. However, that means I am the first dropped off and last to be picked up.

My co-workers are pretty sure this won't last. Even the auditors that are here right now want in on the pool they are talking about getting started betting on the day I will miss the van.
I am known to have a very erratic schedule, don't function well in the morning, and leave late at least one day a week. However, I am bound and determined to make this work. : ) I am hoping this helps me begin work earlier and more regularly each day. Starting earlier is a resolution I made this year and have yet to keep it as I was helping with the girls in the mornings before school.

I have already had quite a few stories to tell about the van trips this week, so it won't be dull. I plan to update this blog from time to time with the vanpooling drama. ENJOY!

Happy, Happy Birthday, Hailey!

2010-08-27T20:52:00.000-07:00

Sorry that we won't be able to see you for your birthday. Hope you had a good day and enjoy this video.

Softball season....

2009-05-23T07:34:00.000-07:00

Softball season is here and is what we are doing almost every evening in the Cunningham household these days. Eliza is playing tee ball for the first time and Skylar is on two different teams this year. Skylar played in her first tournament last weekend and the team placed 3rd of 4 teams. I was proud of the way she hustled on the field and didn't back down from the pitcher. I was amazed that she and her teammates were not intimidated by the other teams given that most of the girls were 2 years older than Skylar.
Here are a few random pics from the games.

Digital Layout Share...

2009-04-26T15:17:00.001-07:00

Just thought I would pop in today to share a digital scrapbook layout I put together today. The proceeds from the purchase of the digital kit go to Autism Speaks with $4 in matching dollars going to the cause as well.

http://www.songbirdavenue.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=13&products_id=33

Latest pages...

2009-04-22T18:38:00.001-07:00

Not much to report today in the Cunningham household. I have been working from home with a sick Eliza the last couple of days. Yesterday was fairly productive, but today I spent all day on conference calls, e-mailing from my Blackberry and smacking my computer. How could it work one day and not the next?!?!? ... the question of the day...Is technology supposed to make our lives easier or more stressful?...

Anyway, I thought I would share a few of my latest layouts.

Also, here are the girls' latest school pictures. Skylar's photo made me teary eyed. They are just growing up too fast! E-mail me if you want me to order you some...

Easter...and blessings...

2009-04-16T19:28:00.000-07:00

It's been a while again since I have posted. I have, again, been very busy at work and Danny is working night and day at the lake. We are also gearing up with softball, t-ball, and dance recital around here. The spring time is really no fun for mom the taxi driver.

I have tried to take a little time and smell the roses each day, however. I have written a quote on my white board at work, "Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it." So true....So true...I love having the little reminder in my cubicle every day.

Things to be thankful for this week:

1) Easter...the blessing of eternal life is a gift like no other, and the chance to share the day with family was wonderful.

2) A husband who loves me unconditionally and is also my best friend

3) At least it is spring and not winter now that we discovered we need a new furnace : (

4) Kids who are healthy most days (stayed home with Skylar once this week but haven't stayed home all school year until now)

5) Eliza hit her first t-ball off of a pitch...so thankful to be able to feel a mother's pride

6) Skylar is a wonder at piano...the teacher can't say enough about her talent and is happy to have her as a student. Again, so thankful to be able to feel a mother's pride.

7) Having a job that is 75% up my alley even if it kicks my butt and drains my energy certain days. Some people aren't lucky enough to know a fulfilling career let alone have a job in this economy.

8) Wonderful friends to vent to and be able to be there for them as well.

9) Blankets and slippers....did I say our furnace is broken?

10) Internet blogs,Twitter and Facebook, and Star Trek and Deadliest Catch on Tivo. These distractions help me wind down and be able to use my brain again another day. Boy, do I need these diversions.... All work and no play makes Gina a CRANKY LADY!!!!!

Thanks for listening to me ramble. Here are a few Easter photos of the girls coloring eggs. ENJOY!

Signs of Spring....

2009-03-30T18:30:00.001-07:00

Just a quick note to say we are seeing a few signs of spring here at the Cunningham household. We are doing a little spring cleaning by purging 9 garbage bags of toys and clothes to Goodwill. Boy, did that feel good! We rearranged the girls' rooms and put together a couple of shelves too. 34 screws and 90 nails later, each girl had a new organized place to keep their stuff...now if I could just get Eliza to use her hamper.

We also started opening up some windows and letting in the fresh air.

Here are a couple of photos of the kitties enjoying the sun and breeze yesterday.

Word of the Year...

2009-03-29T18:09:00.000-07:00

Wow! It has been 2 months since my last blogpost. I have been a little down in the dumps lately questioning how much time I spend away from friends and family and if it is really worth it. I am on a committee at work to investigate solutions for the general work/life balance problem we have at Aviva Investors as well, which is sort of ironic. I may not be the best person to solve the problem given that I have such an imbalance myself. However, thinking about the issues revealed by this committee has finally lead me to figure out what my word of the year should be:

BALANCE. Balance work and home; balance working and playing; balance time with Danny and time with the girls; balance working on the various committees and customers at work with managing people

Let's hope by the end of this year that I am more in balance. Wish me luck.

Funny Saturday photos...

2009-02-01T10:38:00.000-08:00

Jenn and I got together Saturday to get prizes ready for our scrapbooking group's annual retreat next weekend. We took some random funny photos along the way. It's fun random moments like these that make life worth living.

Tagged...

2009-01-31T09:04:00.000-08:00

I just got tagged from my friend Mary Perry. For the tag, simply go to the place where you keep all your photos, scroll down to the 6th folder and choose the 6th photo.Post the photo and describe it. That's it! Have fun!

Well, here it is Eliza feeling her muscles on a warm summer day out on our deck. She is wearing one of her many creative outfits and showing off doing just about everything. She begged for me to take her picture and she chose to show me her muscles as her pose of choice this day.

Happy Birthday, Danny!

2009-01-24T09:32:00.000-08:00

Danny and I headed to Minnesota, and the girls spent a couple of days with Grandpa and Grandma Peterson the weekend of Danny's 36th birthday.

The girls had a blast playing with Grandma and Grandpa and of course the kitties. They also did a lot of decorating to greet us as we got back.

We took Benji, Danny's co-worker and friend, and his fiance, Laurie with us to the Minneapolis boat show, the Mall of America, and some time in downtown Minneapolis celebrating at the Hard Rock and a piano bar. We even ventured out to downtown on the Minnepolis light rail system. The piano bar was a blast, the time away was nice, but I just loved the light rail. I have such a fascination with public transportation lately. Don't ask me why.

Recent scrapbook layouts.

2009-01-07T22:22:00.000-08:00

Just thought I would post a few of my latest layouts.

New kitty happenings...

2009-01-07T22:11:00.001-08:00

Well, we have now had our new kitty, Coco for 2 weeks, and thought I would give an update.
1)She has gotten used to the house, and has not had any accidents.
2)She is cuddly and social
3)She loves to sleep under Skylar's bed(Ryobi rarely goes near Skylar or Eliza's room)
4)She still has her front claws but surprisingly hasn't used them unless playing with Danny.
5)We have been treating her for ear mites and gave her a flea bath just in case...I am happy to report that no fleas were detected but a wet cat always makes for funny photos.
6)Ryobi is still queen of the house and hisses and growls at the site of Coco...I do hope this behavior goes away soon!

Rock Band New Year...

2008-12-31T21:40:00.000-08:00

We have been playing Rock Band constantly since Danny opened it on Christmas Day. I have become the drummer, Skylar the basist, Danny the lead guitar, and Eliza the fan/cheerleader/wardrobe consultant. Eliza had us wearing rock outfits by the end of the night and took all of the pictures. I thought I would just post a few photos of these photos of us rocking in the New Year.

Happy Holidays!

2008-12-29T21:14:00.000-08:00

I am so glad I got my holiday decorating and most of my shopping done prior to the holidays this year. We invited Dan, Liz, Hailey, and Hayden to stay at our house the weekend before Christmas; it would have been much less relaxing if I was worrying about decorating and shopping that weekend too. Thank goodness their trip from Colorado was uneventful weather wise, and their kids were angels as well. Liz, you are such a planner and my hero... Hailey and the girls played pretty well together, and I am grateful they had this cousin time. Hayden was pretty close to mama most of the time, but I was able to cuddle and rock him nearly to sleep on Saturday night, which was VERY sweet and special to me. It was so nice to be able to share our home with them and see them every day for a few days. I miss them so much already. With Liz, Dan and Danny's help we hosted Christmas with Dad and Carol on Saturday, Dec. 20 and the Dingeman's, Findlay's and Grandma Mase on Sunday, Dec. 21st. We had ham both days along with several salads, vegetables, rolls, and many desserts. There were lots of left overs both days. Thank God for 2 fridges. Surprisingly, the cooking didn't cause me to go screaming into the woods, but I was a little worried it would at times. Thanks to the family for being so patient and loving and just being gracious guests overall! Love you ALL.

On Saturday, the kids soaked up lots of Grandma and Grandpa time and got lots of toys. Skylar loved her Spa kit and Eliza loved the Pixos and Moon Sand. They couldn't wait to start playing. We had all of the spa kits done by the end of the day and pixos and moon sand littered the kitchen table in no time. I have said it before, but it is so fun that Skylar and Eliza have Grandparents that love to PLAY. They also each got personalized bath towels, and it was surprising how excited they all were over those. It really is the little things sometimes... Sunday, the meal was later in the afternoon and gave us plenty of time to have a leisurely morning and set up slowly for the big meal, so Dad and Carol were able to come back over in the morning to visit and play some more.

17 adults and 4 kids is a lot for my little house. Surprisingly, there were several seats left at the tables at mealtime, because the younger crowd and the guys migrated to the basement to watch Christmas vacation and chat. The present opening was not quite as stress free with us all in our living room, but what's Christmas without a mound full of wrapping paper and screaming kids.... They each got some fun toys that they played with for the rest of the night. Why is present packaging such a pain?!?? The adults drew names again this year, and I love to see what each of us finds for each other. Dan gave me a Ryan Adams CD and a candle, and Liz gave Danny a remote control helicopter. Perfect gifts. I love candles, and always love listening to new music artists. Danny is a big kid, so what's not to love about a remote control toy? Eventually, the drums and guitars came out in the basement with Danny and the Findlay kids and Dan, John, and I played Cribbage. I am so thankful that we have a family that enjoys each other and that Grandma was well enough to enjoy the holiday with us as well.

We spent Christmas Eve at Jenn's with the Cunningham, Brant, Herrick and Eiteman families as is tradition. We were missing a very important family member again this year with the passing of Grandpa Cunningham. Our gift to Grandma Mary was a quilt with some of his old photos on it that she could cuddle with. We all had a good cry. Funny how the emotion of the holiday just sort of hit us like a ton of bricks once the gift was opened. I hope it is something Grandma can hug and enjoy everyday.

Christmas Eve usually means opening PJs, feeding the reindeer and leaving cookies for Santa. We did all of these things, but we had another surprise this year. We gave the kids a kitty for Christmas and she was waiting in a kennel under the tree when we got home from Jenn's. Eliza, said,"Did Ryobi have a baby?" (Ryobi is our other cat) when she say her and Skylar almost started crying worrying about Ryobi's feelings getting hurt....not exactly the reaction we were hoping for. Oh well...time will help with the bonding. I just love our new kitty. We named her Coco, and she has the markings of a Siamese but is just a stray from Grandpa Dave's. He and Sandra did a great job training her and she has acclimated to life at our house very well! No accidents and only a few minor fits from Ryobi...Time will help her too, I hope.

We had a leisurely morning at home to open Santa gifts and gifts from each other. Danny got Xbox and Rock Band 2 while I received a Memory Bound Gift Card and an AWESOME makeup mirror even though we weren't supposed to exchange gifts.(Why does that never work?) The girls got shoes, boots, robes, DS games, movies, toys, coloring books, candy, more Pixos, you name it they got it. I think there were 8 or 9 gifts each. They were excited by everything and nothing is better than a child's face at Christmas. I am so grateful that Danny purchased a digital video camera recently...there are some priceless moments on film.

Christmas Day was hosted at the Herricks with the Wrights, Herricks, and Campbell's. Grandma Jo and Joell made a wonderful meal and there were TONS of gifts as usual. The kids got some fun new toys that were on their list. Danny and I got a new toaster which was much needed. I think our last one was 20 years old...I also got some Ugg boots, a new watch, sweater and shirt, and money for a new winter coat. Danny got some much needed new shirts and some guitar books he had asked for. Thanks Santa Jolene and Neil.

We were also able to spend the 26th, 27th, and 28th at home together as a family loving our new kitty and enjoying each other...I have so much to be grateful for.

We're BACK from the Carribean...

2008-12-12T08:45:00.001-08:00

Well, we are finally back home after a long day of traveling yesterday. Our flight was delayed 2 hours, so we didn't arrive until after 1am. Boy, did sleeping in our own bed feel nice! Unfortunately, the ground feels like it is still moving after so many days on a boat, though.

We had quite an adventure on and off the boat. We spent most of our money on pictures, drinks, and cigars on the boat. ( I know...cigars...gotta try something different once in a while) Such fun! The cigar bar was our favorite quiet place on the ship to talk and meet other people. We had to leave the ship before we got too attached or had to take out a second mortgage on the house. : ) There were also some great stage shows as well as a couple of good rounds of trivia that kept us busy while on the ship. Amazingly, we didn't use the hot tubs and only dipped in the pool while sun bathing for a couple of hours. There's so much to do...no time for sitting around.

Our first port was Grand Cayman. Joan, Kevin, Tim, Jenn, Danny, and I went snorkeling while Grandma and Kathy went 100 feet down in a submarine. We all saw some wonderfully colorful fish and the snorkeling boat even took us over a shipwreck. Very cool experience and extremely peaceful. I could have done it all day, if the water was a little warmer. Can't wait to see the pictures from the underwater camera. We spent some time shopping in Grand Cayman as well, and Danny bought me a gorgeous Ammolite pendant and earrings. Ammolite is a fossil mined in Canada and is very rare. It has several colors in the stone and looks different depending on the lighting.http://www.korite.com/ammolite.html

We spent the next port day in Jamaica. Joan and Kevin went on a tour of a spice factory and pottery shop. Grandma and Kathy toured Jamaica with a tour guide and did a little shopping. Jenn, Tim, Danny and I went on a muddy, dune buggy ride. It was a BLAST! You couldn't even tell what color our shirts were originally when we were finished. We also jumped off of a 15 foot cliff into the ocean when we were done. There are some muddy pictures below, but this is only half way through the course. After we cleaned up on the ship and had lunch, we also ventured out to a beach and did some shopping near the pier. I just love the people of Jamaica. So laid back and happy. Irie, Mon.

The last day at sea was very warm, and we finally laid out and dipped in the pool for a couple of hours. We never did use the ship's hot tubs. We had a pretty relaxing last day on the ship and had to spend some time creatively packing. We only had carry on luggage and had them packed pretty full when we arrived. Good thing our purchases were small items...

Overall, it was a great vacation and good times with friends and family. I was so proud of Grandma, considering she had never been out of the country before. She just went with the flow and experienced quite a bit of the culture and met several new people in and out of the ship.

We are cruisin' again in February on the same ship. At least we have a lay of the land now.

We missed the kids horribly and it sounds like they were getting a little mopey missing us the last couple of days. Thank goodness for such WONDERFUL grandparents to watch over them when we were gone. They played, fed the kitties,and made Christmas cookies with Grandma and Grandpa Peterson. They did a lot of crafts, drawing, and painting with Grandpa David and Sandra. We are so thankful that the kids had the chance to experience time with the grandparents and experience a good spoiling too.

Holiday preparations...

2008-11-30T20:49:00.000-08:00

You would all be very proud of me. Procrastinator Cunningham, as I sometimes call myself, is actually more prepared than EVER for the holidays. I have a couple more items for the girls to buy and a card to make to put some cash in for my brother and cousin. Other than that. I am DONE shopping, wrapping, and decorating. I even have all of the December birthday gifts bought and wrapped except one. I do still need to buy birthday cards.

I am actually so amazed and relieved that I may actually have the possibility to enjoy the holiday rather than rush through them this year. Amazing!!! The girls and I even kept up our charitable tradition today. We filled 3 garbage bags with shoes and toys that they don't use anymore and took them to Goodwill in Ankeny. We also dropped a new unwrapped toy off at the Toys for Tots box at Toys R Us. They felt very good to be helping others and as a bonus made room for the toys they hope Santa is bringing them this year.

Some nights I think it is all a distraction from the mounds of laundry, dusting, and bathroom cleaning, but those will always be there no matter what.
Here are a couple of pictures of the girls with Santa today. Eliza wants puppy in my pocket, jungle in my pocket, and a Dora Mermaid. Skylar was too shy to tell him anything. She just kept giggling. : )

Snow Reindeer and other wintry fun...

2008-11-23T19:39:00.000-08:00

It seems like the only day I am blogging lately is Sunday, so it must be the most exciting day of my week... Today my snow bunnies and I had a great time outside.

Danny and I hung Christmas lights on the house for the first time in 8 or 9 years. It wasn't without its drama and at least 3 trips back to the store for extension cords, more bulbs, and one return; however, I LOVE the result. It will be so nice and peaceful to come home to our pretty lights each night. For some reason I am in the holiday spirit more this year than I can ever remember! I have already wrapped all of the presents I have bought, which is about 20 of them including 2 December birthday gifts. CRAZINESS!! I have even started our Christmas cards and made a little craft project last night. I will have to take a picture of it when it is done and share.

Since, it was almost 40 degrees today, we used it to hang up the lights, and the girls used it to play, roll, throw, scoop, and shovel the snow while it lasted. Skylar started a snowman as the day warmed up and made wet snow. We decided to make a Snow Rudolph with a clown nose and antlers. I really thought the result was adorable! I am sure the birds will pick out the raisin eyes, and he will melt his nose off before the week is up. We will see. I really had a lot of fun helping Skylar too. Danny will say it distracted me from helping with the lights, but they got done anyhow.

I am very thankful to Danny for being supportive and taking on the lights project this year, and for having the time at home to enjoy the kids this weekend!

Sunday funnies...

2008-11-16T21:16:00.000-08:00

Well, I had a couple of those 'out of the mouth of babes' moments today. It is pretty amazing what you hear when you sit still long enough to hear what your kids are saying. I spent the day at home today with the girls. I played beauty shop with Eliza and helped Skylar clean out one of my old work bags to use, and they were thrilled...why can't all days be filled with such fun? Now, for the stories...

We stepped out of the house for a little bit to pick Skylar up from piano lessons, and the girls spotted a police car on the side of the road up ahead with its lights on. They both became slightly agitated and Eliza started whimpering a little. I asked her what she was upset about and she said, "Mom, don't make that noise that the race cars make...I don't want you to go to jail." I agreed that I would be careful but quietly laughed to myself. Apparently, I have squealed the tires in my rockin' Chevy Malibu with the great V6 with more torque than necessary one too many times. : ) The small thrills of a mother have turned into an example of rebellion for my kids. They are ALWAYS watching aren't they?!? Guess my fun is over for a while...just a little while...

Later tonight, Eliza came to ask me if Danny and I could eat with her and Skylar tonight. She said, "We like it when you and Daddy picnic with us instead of going downstairs for dinner. Please will you eat with us?" (Another proud motherly moment.NOT! I shouldn't need a reminder to eat together as a family.) We were home all day together, but they were still craving time with us...just a little more time...I was happy to oblige and need to remember to give them this time more often without their friendly reminders.

Love you, girls, and counting my many blessings tonight.

11th Wedding Anniversary

2008-11-09T19:38:00.000-08:00

Happy Anniversary, Danny!!!

We have made it 11 years. Danny took me out to Bravo! for dinner and for a little shopping at Jordan Creek Mall to celebrate. We also managed to make a late show too.

It was a great night together in a time in our life that seems like we never see each other. Both of us are busy running in opposite directions to work or to the kids' activities.

Gotta love having a partner and best friend in this crazy life, though. Love you , Honey!

Halloween

2008-11-03T18:21:00.000-08:00

I love, love, love Halloween! This year was no exception. The girls dressed up several times with parties at dance, school, and Aunt Joell and Uncle Buddy's besides the usual trick or treat night. Danny became a real pro at Eliza's clown makeup. Here are a few photos of the girls and the cousins in action.

Joell and Buddy also planned a great family costume party on 10-31. They did such a great job planning games for the kids, and the adults had a lot of fun too. Such cute costumes, and a great excuse to act a little silly. Here are a few photos of us crazy adults too.

Exciting Sunday morning...

2008-10-19T14:02:00.000-07:00

We have had some excitement at the Cunningham household this morning...

Skylar woke us up with the news that Ryobi was under her bed, and she couldn't get her out. Next thing we know, Skylar is yelping about a mouse. Danny went in to investigate, and you wouldn't believe the mess he found. He said the toys and games under her bed were piled so high that the bed could sit there without the frame. : ) He didn't know where to start to try and catch the little mouse. They started digging and filling a garbage bag with the toys Skylar forgot she even had from under her bed. The mouse kept trying to hide, and they kept throwing the hiding places out. A few minutes later the mouse was found and Skylar's room looked like a tornado hit it!!! She spent the next 3 hours filling 3 garbage bags. It is amazing the mounds of stuff we accumulate! Just amazing! I think every sock she owned was under there too. No wonder she never has any to wear. Why is it so hard for the kids to use a hamper?!?!

More drama. While Danny was arming himself with a broom and dustpan to deal with the mouse, he noticed the garbage bags in the garage had a hole in them much larger than a mouse would create. He noticed that things were knocked off shelves and a few other things were pushed over in the garage. He wondered if a small dog got in our garage when it was open for a couple of hours last night. He opened the door in case it still hadn't left and started investigating. He moved a couple of items and suddenly jumped back! "It's a possum!", he said. The girls and I slammed the garage door and left Danny in there to shoo him out on his own. We ran to the front door, so we could see when the creature left the garage. We were cracking up listening to Danny. "You're going the wrong way...Get out of here...Don't go that way." As if possums speak English... A minute or so later, Eliza says, "I see it." We all watched the front yard as the little gray butt scurried out of our yard and across the street. His little gray waddle and skinny pink tail were actually kind of cute. Danny yelled, "Did you see the size of that thing? I think we have R.U.S.s in our yard. " (RUSs are monstrous Rodents of Unusual Size from the Princess Bride movie). Too funny. Never a lack of drama at our house...never.

We have some news on a lighter note too. Eliza read a couple of sentences to me today. The first one was: Eliza is on the rug. The second one was: It looks like a giant tooth. She was so proud, and we were squealing with delight. What a big girls she is getting to be. My littlest one is a reader now!

Hopefully, the rest of the day is less eventful.

Strange Pepperoni Dream.

2008-10-18T13:36:00.000-07:00

I remembered one of my crazy dreams this morning. ( I always have crazy dreams after eating Pepperoni Pizza)

I will try to make a long story short, but I could write an action adventure film with the basic plot. A large group (about 1/2 of total plane) of friends and family were on a plane in Kansas City or Omaha (could only tell the relative size of the airport, but not the actually city). We were told that the captain had to make a quick right turn maneuver after the plane lifted off in order to clear the airspace properly from the runway we were at. We were on a runway technically too small for our plane, but the captain was experienced, and we would be OK per the flight attendant. She turned out to be correct. After the captain succeeded with the right turn, the whole cabin started clapping! We relaxed and began talking about our vacation.

Next thing we knew, the plane was touching down again. We landed and taxied to an area of the airport with the maintenance hangars and fuel lines. Everyone was looking at each other and whispering about , "What Now?" The cabin doors opened, and we were all told to disembark the aircraft, but to stay close. The plane turned out to be low on fuel, and we were refueling before taking off again. "Nothing to worry about", they said. Strangely, we did as we were told and stayed together in an orderly fashion waiting for the signal to reboard the aircraft. Well, as we were waiting several black windowed Surburbans drove into the area and dozens of TSA guards and US Marshalls arrived on the scene. It was explained to us that since we were already screened by airport security, they had to make sure we were still not a safety concern as we were back on the ground. Again, we listened, trusted, and stayed together in an orderly fashion. Hours passed...people got restless...but no chaos ensued. Crazy, unbelievable, really... Next thing we know, we are reboarding and all will be well...so we thought.

We couldn't get over the feeling that we were missing one person on the aircraft, but the flight crew couldn't find anyone missing on the crew or passenger list. We were soon given clearance to taxi back to the runway, and we started moving with all of the black windowed Surburbans following. Next, the captain announced that we would not be landing in S. Carolina as planned. The delay in leaving had made our original flightplan obsolete, and we had to take a new path of clear airspace to another airport. However, a fellow passenger soon started whispering that the captain wasn't telling us the whole truth. "I just heard on the radio that the terror threat was increased in S. Carolina. That's why we aren't going there." said the passenger. We started wondering why the captain would be lying to us. Do they suspect the threat is on this airplane? Is that why the Surburbans are following us? Are they watching for the passengers to start reacting to the news about the change in flight plan? Do they think there is a terrorist on our plane?....

I guess I will never know. This is where the dream ended. Crazy imagination I have sometimes... : )

It's been awhile....

2008-10-12T18:21:00.000-07:00

Well, it's been awhile since I have posted. Life has been chaotic to say the least mostly due to work. I have been working until 10pm or later most every day starting 9-28 due to quarter end and the current market situation.

Starting the first week of September or so, the US financial markets began a downhill spiral. It all started last year or even earlier with the subprime mortgage market starting to boom. These subprime mortgages had adjustable rates or no principal due clauses that eventually became unaffordable to many home owners, therefore, causing foreclosures and bankruptcy. Since many of these mortgages were sold to the secondary market to large investment banks and counterparties and even Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the declining economy had far reaching effects on these large entities that seemed too stable and dependable to fail prior to these financial times. Soon the failure of these investment banks started. The government stepping in to save Bear Stearns and allowing a buyout was the first indication, next came Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, next was the failure of Lehman Brothers, and finally, the buyout of Merill Lynch by Bank of America. Now there are really no investment banks and only 3 of 5 of the largest banking firms remain. (Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan Chase, and Goldman Sachs)

The insurance sector is in trouble as well as the financial sector. AIG had to borrow $20 billion of its own reserves and borrow an additional $85 billion from the US government. Next, Washington Mutual fails and Wells Fargo buys Wachovia.

Here is a link to the timeline: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/business/creditcrisis/timeline/timeline.html

What does this mean to me and my job and life?

1) Aviva has many investments in Lehman and Lehman sold derivatives and structured bonds. These are now only valued at $.34 on the dollar, and I spent several days processing write-downs, deleting receivables, and checking and re-checking pricing before we closed the books.

2) The liquidity markets are also closing down, so the Aviva cash dept. had to get creative in order to invest its cash at quarter end in money markets.

3) The credit markets are closing as well, so as we had to record losses in Aviva's investments due to Lehman holdings and general poor market conditions, we received capital from our parent to keep our capital reserve levels up. ( I am very thankful that we have a UK parent with conditions in US markets the way they were at quarter end!)

4) No matter how prepared we were for quarter end, these and other crazy things seemed to come out of the woodwork.

5) Finally, I don't even want to look at my 401 K balance. I am sure I would be sick!!!

I have never seen the government need to step in to the private financial sector so much in my lifetime, but I am sure we will be stronger for it when the dust settles. Hopefully, we have a few strong financial institutions when all is said and done rather than many, many mediocre ones. Hopefully, we will learn from our mistakes of the subprime investments and a market like that will not exist again. Hopefully, our government will actually make money on the loans and investments it has made. Most of all, hopefully, the economy will soon begin taking care of itself again and confidence and strength will return.

Pray with me for our leaders and those citizens most affected by this financial crisis to make the right decisions and get through this crisis quickly!

David's wedding.

2008-10-04T19:07:00.000-07:00

We spent the day with the family at David and Sandra's wedding on 10-4-08 in Rippey, IA. The ceremony was beautiful, and it was wonderful witnessing the day David had been waiting for for several decades. He has loved Sandra since Danny was a little boy, and I was so happy to see his dreams come true on their wedding day.

We celebrated with some dancing at their reception in Jamaica, IA afterwards. Danny served as the DJ and took his job quite SERIOUSLY. He bought a light pole with several laser lights and rotating disco lights. He also bought a fog machine...I gave him quite a hard time, but they actually made the party! We had a lot of fun, and the girls were so happy to be included in the party. Here are a few photos.

The end of an era...

2008-09-21T10:15:00.000-07:00

We all spent the day at the farm taking down the red barn. The barn has been in disrepair for as long as I can remember, but it had a sentimental history and stood as a memory for years. I have heard stories of playing in the hay mound from Danny's youth. Also, Grandpa had horses for many years, and Jenn and Joell have many fond stories to tell about the horses and horse tackle that was home in that barn. Since losing Grandpa, it has been even harder to let some of reminders of the family history go, but the barn had become unsafe. Jenn scheduled a date, and we all showed up to help and enjoy each other for the day.
I think we actually had a very fun, family day despite the reason we were brought together. The men had fun with the big machines (MORE POWER). I even had a go at the front end loader which was a total blast, and the kids ran around playing in the other buildings, taking rides on the Ranger, and picking up wooly worms. Jenn and Kathy planned a big family lunch, and we even took down a few dangerous trees and rehung a light on the utility pole before all was said and done.
We had a simple, family weekend...this is what life is about. Just enjoying each other and time together no matter what we are doing. I wish every day was a rewarding, but I guess that is what makes days like this even better...

15 year class reunion

2008-09-20T09:36:00.000-07:00

Danny, Tina, and I attended the Ankeny Hawks class of 1993 class reunion on Friday and Saturday. I was not really looking forward to it at first. The only person I still talk to is Tina from my graduating class. Surprisingly I had a lot of fun! Most of the girls that Tina and I used to run around with showed up at both the Friday and Saturday night festivities. It is actually pretty amazing how we can not see each other for 15 years, and then can fall right back in to talking and laughing and joking with each other like time hadn't really passed too much.

This was my first reunion, and now I see the fascination with such events. It is just priceless to have the chance to reconnect and simply have fun and enjoy each other again. We all have similar backgrounds and stories, and can relate to each others present lives as well.

The first night we just had a casual evening at Benchwarmer's in Ankeny. The second night there was dinner and a band at the Iowa Cub Club in Des Moines. We also escaped to a party bus after a while on Saturday to dance and drive around Des Moines for an hour or so. It was a lot of laughs and good for a few photos. We all decided we wouldn't be as much fun at 38, so why not give it a go... : ) Danny, Tina, and I took a cab back to the Cub Club around 11pm to get home to the kids, which I am sure was a VERY smart decision.

Eliza the animal lover.

2008-09-18T14:03:00.000-07:00

I had a fun conversation with Eliza on Thursday evening I would like to save for posterity.

Mom: I wonder if Ryobi found any mice today.

Skylar: What? We don't have mice.

Mom: Yes we do, Daddy caught two yesterday. One of them was a baby.

Eliza: (Weepy, looking at me with sad eyes) You can't hurt them.

Mom: Why not? Mice aren't good in the house.

Eliza: Write a note to Daddy from the mouse. Write, Hello, I am the baby mouse. My name is Eliza. Don't hurt me because I am like your baby Eliza.

Mom: Eliza, if you were a mouse, what would you do to be a good mouse?

Eliza: (cracking herself up) This is going to be funny...This is going to be gross...(cracking herseflt up again) I wouldn't poop everywhere. : )

She is such a crack up. I don't think it will stop us from catching the baby mice that creep in every fall, but such a good try, Eliza.

Monday night football and Tuesday night blues

2008-09-16T21:45:00.000-07:00

Not much to report for the beginning of another work/school week.

I WASTED most of my Monday night watching what should have been one of the most exciting NFL football games I have ever watched. Almost 80 points scored total and crazy penalties and plays on both sides. The first half was played nothing like the second half, and the crowd was really into it. Not me... Fantasy football ruined it all. I had the QB on the Eagles , Donovan McNabb, and one of the wide receivers, T.O., on the Cowboys. They each had amazing first halves, and I only needed 8 points to win in my fantasy game. There was a crazy Eagles touchdown recalled because the receiver celebrated and spiked the ball before he actually entered the endzone. NICE. Who does that? A 50+ yard touchdown recalled because the receiver was a DORK! If I was watching the game just to watch, my reaction would have been to laugh, and the result would have been no big deal because the next play was the final yard for the Eagles to actual score the touchdown. However, because I don't get QB points for a run in touchdown, I was MIFFED. Of course, with a weird second half I got virtually no other chances to make up the points and I lost my Fantasy games. I am now 0-3 for the season. UGH!

Remember I said I WASTED my night watching football. Now you know why I feel that way...maybe if I had won I would feel differently...funny how that is. : )

Tuesday night was spent working late. I drove through McDonalds after 9:30 tonight for dinner and kissed my sleeping children goodnight when I got home. UGH! again.

Here's to hoping Wednesday is an improvement from the past 2 days....

More layouts to share...

2008-09-14T19:42:00.000-07:00

The girls and I woke up bright and early this morning to head over to the Eitemans to play for the day. It was so nice to have a girls day with Jenn and Joan. The kids even had so much fun they hated to stop and eat and didn't want to go home at bedtime.

Here are a few of my creations: (The first two are based on sketches from a sketch102.com class I am taking)

Party at the Martinson's

2008-09-13T19:36:00.000-07:00

After the usual hip hop dance class and piano lesson on Saturday, we hung out at home for a few hours. Once the girl's sitter arrived, Danny and I headed out for a party at a co-worker's house in Des Moines. She was having the band of one of the attorney's we work with provide the entertrainment at her party. I have been anxious to see his band play since I learned of his weekend hobby over 2 years ago.

The party was pretty low key, and Danny and I enjoyed ourselves quite a bit. The band was good fun and Ted, the attorney I work with, was quite a talent. He played lead guitar, sang, and played keyboards. Lookin' forward to seeing them play again.

Latest creations...

2008-09-11T22:48:00.000-07:00

Just thought I would share a few of my latest creations today. I have spent my evenings either creating or reading this week. I have completed 3 scrapbook pages and complete Twilight by Stefanie Meyer. It is a four book series, and I can't wait to buy number 2.

Here are the pages:

Jazz shoes and other happenings.

2008-09-08T20:54:00.000-07:00

Well, another Monday came and went. It was a rainy morning that started kind of slow for me because the sun didn't come through the house like it usually does. I finally did make it to work and realized I had missed a call from Danny. He was frantic looking for his ID, ATM card and iPod. I hadn't seen them, and he knew where he last had but wanted help retracing his steps. Unfortunately he had been a lot of places this morning:

Did you check the laundry? Yes

Did you check the garbage? Yes (even took it all out of the bags and placed into new bags-"open heat surgery on the garbage" per Danny)

Did you check the countertops next to the garbages? Yes

Did you check the garage on your way to pick up the garbage? Yes

Did you check you truck floor? Yes

Did you check the driveway at the school where you opened the door for Eliza? Yes

Did you check the highway...Did you lay them on my car...Did you place them on my trunk when putting Eliza in the truck...? OH NO!!!

A few minutes later the next phone call came to tell me that he found his iPod in the middle of the Highway obviously run over. His folder of photos he was taking with him to work were strewn all over the ditch for 1/4 mile, and his ID and ATM card were no where to be found. He was soaking from head to toe from searching garbages, driveways, streets and ditches in the rain. What a great Monday.

Well, the ATM card is cancelled and reordered and a replacement ID has been obtained. He is still out on iPod unfortunately. Maybe this is a good excuse to get the 80GB version... Always a silver lining right?!?!

The girls had some fun stuff happening today on a lighter note. Today was Skylar's first year of 1 hour dance classes with Tap, Jazz, and Ballet. She has Jazz shoes for the first time and LOVES them. Eliza is envious, but I told her to wait 3 years, then she could wear them.

Eliza has her last week of wearing a different color each day. Today was purple today. Here she is pictured in her purple shirt and her list of colors from Mrs. Cole.

She also read her first book to us tonight. The title was Shapes. There were five pages:

It is a circle.
It is a square.
It is a triangle.
It is a rectangle.
Circle, Square, Triangle, Rectangle.

She is supposed to be learning the sight words of It and Is through this book. It was so fun to see her beaming with confidence as she read to Danny and I. I will be sure to save this book for posterity!

P.S. Danny and I both lost our games during the first week of Fantasy Football. The hardest part to swallow is that I lost by 1 stinkin' point. UGGGHHH!!!

ACM Fallapalooza

2008-09-07T22:12:00.000-07:00

The activities committee I am on at work (ACMAC) planned a family fun day for employees' families today. We planned a catered meal and paid for admission to the activities at Sleepy Hollow Sport Parks in Des Moines for the day. http://www.sleepyhollowsportspark.com/summer.html

We had a pretty good turn out, and the weather was beautiful. It was one last summer day where short sleeves were OK. We ate lunch then headed to the rock climbing wall. Skylar and Eliza both wanted to climb the 30+ foot wall, and they BOTH MADE IT TO THE TOP!!! I couldn't believe how little they looked up there, but they did it. So cool!

We also rode go carts and bumper boats, and played mini golf. I never giggled so hard in my life as I did on the bumper boats... So fun! The girls jumped in the bounce houses, and Danny and I tried to make each other sick on the Wizzer... Great fun afternoon that tired the whole family out.

Saturday is here again...

2008-09-06T21:49:00.000-07:00

Busy day again today. Skylar started Hip Hop dance class today. It was a total blast to watch. Jenn, Joan, Joell, and I are going to try the adult class that starts next month, so I was trying to learn some of the moves by watching Skylar's class. Well, unfortunately, the teacher informed me that if he is doing an adult class, it is going to be cardio. YIKES!!! I hope he takes it easy on us old ladies... He is in his twenties and may not know what the sound of popping and cracking joints sounds like... Pray for us. : )

Skylar also started her second year of piano today. She remembered quite a few things and got a LOT of new songs to learn for next time. She is supposed to learn a couple of them with not only the notes but the staccato, forte, legato, etc. Practice, Practice, Practice is the name of the game this week.

Then, we headed to Boone to see the Hockemeier's and attend Pufferbilly days Saturday evening. We hadn't seen them in months, and we had missed some birthdays. Eliza and Zach each had gifts to open. We took the kids to the carnival rides and had some great carnival food also. The most popular ride was the elephants. Emylyn and Eliza rode twice. I also took Tommy and Skylar on the Dizzy Dragons and spun so fast I think Tommy turned green... We rode a few other things, but the tickets went fast. Next, we headed for the food. The walking tacos, fried donuts, cotton candy, and smoked pork sandwiches were the big hits. Danny was so hungry he went back for a second meal... He tried the walking taco the second time after he already at a smoked pork sandwich. YUMMY!

The kids watched movies at the Hockemeier's while the adults headed to the Gigglin' Goat downtown Boone to watch the band Saucy Jack play. It was pretty cold, and the band was outside on an old parking ramp area. The music was pretty good though, and the people watching was great. We had a few moments of singing and dancing to some old school Guns 'N' Roses, Ozzy Osbourne, and Motley Crue songs... The guitar player was the most impressive. I couldn't believe the Sweet Child O' Mine guitar solo...

It was so good to see everyone again. Thanks for the invite, Matt and Lisa.

Scrapbook Friday!!!

2008-09-05T21:16:00.000-07:00

I look forward to this day with my scrapbook group in Ames every month, and nearly every month, work gets in the way. This one was no exception, but I wasn't about to let it bring me down. I planned a fun project, and I was staying until it was done! (Isn't that right , girls?...It was well past midnight. Thanks for your patience, friends.) I preplanned a mini Halloween album of all of the Halloween's since 2000. It was so fun looking back at the girls and how they have grown. I love having all of these photos in one album to display and flip through. (Thanks Mary Perry for cutting the adorable OWL album pages for me and for gifting the adorable shrinky dink owl to me!!!)

I printed plenty of extra photos too, so I think I will do a Halloween in review layout once I have a 2008 photo to add to it...

Here are photos of the album . Gotta love that holiday! Love the colors, candy, costumes, and crisp air...

Sexy back.

2008-09-04T21:11:00.000-07:00

I promised Jenn some entertainment today as she is home recovering. What better than a dance to Justin Timberlake's , "Sexy Back"?

Skylar worked on a card while I worked on choreography. After we had both complete, we headed over to Jenn's to perform. Unfortunately, Dylan video recorded, but we had fun doing it. (Maybe I can get a hold of the recording and link here soon) I don't really know if it was the get well "card" I was hoping for , but fun nonetheless...

Skylar, thanks for helping old mom out even though you think she is crazy. : )

Draft night...

2008-09-03T20:57:00.000-07:00

NFL football season 2008 starts tomorrow, and our fantasy football draft night was tonight. We met at Bennigan's on Merle Hay Road at 6pm and prepared for the beginning of the season. This is Danny's first year with a team, so we had to find help for the girls tonight. Thankfully, Joell offered to take the girls to tumbling with her girls, then drive them home to Waukee with her until the draft was over...which turned out to be after 9pm.

I am fairly happy with my team. My first round pick was Adrian Peterson, so I am crossing my fingers for no injuries for him. I don' t have great luck historically with this first pick (scarred for life from my number 1 pick of Shaun Alexander 2 years ago).

Danny was being teased pretty good for his pick up of 5 tight ends. 1 at the most per team is typical, since they don't usually have many yards per carry. We'll see how the season plays out, but I bet he is dropping those guys pretty quickly. : )

Should be a fun family feud day on Sundays...

Here is the website where we track our games. Danny is Danny's Darlings, and I am Sunday Superstars. Clicking on "Live Scoring Summary" will give you the scoring for the current week.

http://www21.myfantasyleague.com/2008/home/45912

P.S. All is good with Jenn, and I am sooo happy!!!

Back to the grind...

2008-09-02T20:43:00.000-07:00

Coming back to work after a three day weekend is always difficult, but this one was also full of a couple of special events.

Danny reminded me late last night that dance class started for the girls today. Eliza has tap and ballet again this year, and she was sooo excited to hear it was dance night. We also had to prepare Eliza's 'color of the day' outfit to wear to school each day this week. Eliza's kindergarten class is supposed to wear a different particular color each day for the next 10 days, so they may learn more about each color in class. We are really having fun with this. Tuesday, Sept 2 was yellow day, and we found a bright yellow t-shirt for the occassion.

I also had an event to co-host this evening. It was a United Way Emerging Leadership Initiative event for Aviva, and we booked the event at Azalea's. It was very successful and some new people to the group and to the company learned a lot about the Emerging Leadership Initiative through the event. Getting together with other leaders across the company is always a fun experience for me too because we don't often have the chance to meet peers outside of our own departments. I hope to see them and other leaders in Des Moines at another United Way event soon. The Emerging Leadership Initiative (ELI) concentrates on helping the youth of our community through donations and volunteer time. It also encourages and provides opportunities for networking with community leaders and peers as well as training to lead on non-profit boards as part of the program. It is a good program to be a part of, and if others consider it as a result of our event...great!

Finally, I headed to Jenn's for a lia sophia jewelry party. I was extremely late, but I had left over appetizers, wine, and a jewelry order; therefore, I was welcomed with open arms. : )

It was a late night, but ended in many laughs with friends. Jenn was preparing to wake early for an outpatient surgery the next day, so things got a little sappy before I left too. I love that girl...

Labor Day 2008

2008-09-01T20:34:00.000-07:00

Well, Labor Day is supposed to be a free day to stay home from work, but this year I had to use it as a catch up day. With all of the running around of the weekend...laundry has to be done sometime. While I cleaned, folded laundry and organized my scrapbook area a little bit, the girls headed to the farm with Joell for the last day at the Pool. They played with their cousins, Dylan, Delaney, Sydney, and Halle, one last time before Kirk had to winterize the pool. They didn't want to come home for supper, so I would say they had a great Labor Day.

I did manage to watch a TV show with Danny and do a little reading in my hammock with supper before the day was out, but the long weekend came to a close way too soon.

{ By the way, I have started reading the Twilight Series by Stephenie Meyer http://www.stepheniemeyer.com/twilightseries.html... it is pretty hard to put down so far. I just finished The Year of the Fog by Michelle Richmond, which is also a great page turner}

Last day at the Lake 2008

2008-08-31T20:25:00.000-07:00

Jolene and Neil invited all of the kids and Grandkids to the lake for one last hurrah in 2008. We had sandwiches planned for us at lunch and a wonderful grilled pork loin planned for dinner. It was one of those days to catch up with family, relax, and abuse the water toys one last time.

Grant and Gage were the most memorable...Grant was dancing and singing to every hip hop song we could play on the iPod. It is just amazing how young they start this stuff. We kept telling Nichole and Eric that the Catholic school teachers might need to be a little worried. : )

Gage was having a hay day in the sandy beach digging and flinging dirt everywhere. Pretty soon there was a hole deep enough to bury him in, so the girls obliged. They started to cover Gage up. Next they were filling the hole with water and they were encouraging gage to jump in the puddle. It was sooo funny the way he jumped in it with absolutely no fear...straight up in the air and straight down...

Danny and I also rode the jet skis with Benji and Laurie. I took over control from Danny and drove the jet ski at one point. I had a blast. I was laughing and jumping waves like a crazy person. Danny kept asking if I was trying to throw him off. : )

Such a fun day. It is just amazing how fast the summer goes.

Long time no post...

2008-08-30T20:03:00.000-07:00

Looks like I haven't posted since before Labor Day...we have been crazy busy as usual. Let's see where did I leave off...

Saturday, August 30 we headed to Chuck E Cheese for a belated birthday party for Eliza. A lot of fun was had by all. Adults included!!! We had never hosted a party there before, but they make it really easy. All I brought was the cake. I booked the place on-line, and they did the pizza, drinks, games, goodie bags, and ice cream there. This kids ran around and around the place winning tickets like crazy... Here are some photos.

Back to School Night...

2008-08-29T17:56:00.000-07:00

We met Skylar's teacher tonight. We learned about the classroom expectations (resilience, respect, responsibility, resourceful) and consequences. We learned that Skylar's goal for the school year was to learn cursive. We also completed a questionnaire about Skylar to teach Ms. Olson about Skylar's strengths and weaknesses in and out of the classroom...I hope you have a wonderful year, girl.

Look what I got in the mail today...

2008-08-28T17:28:00.000-07:00

OWL STAMPS!!!! Owls just make me so happy lately, and this stamp set is new from Stampin' Up. I have a friend who is a consultant and ordered these as soon as the catalog was available.

YAY!!! The best surprise was the stamp that says, whoo-la-la. : )

Too funny! This has become an inside joke with Joan, Kevin, Jenn, and I due to a phone conversation that lead to Eliza saying, "ooh-la-la, ooh-la-la, ooh-la-la". She was so cute repeating it over and over and now we repeatedly encourage her to say it...

I can see the layout I will do with this stamp now...

First trip to Starbucks

2008-08-27T20:17:00.000-07:00

Well, I finally did it...I had a drink at Starbucks. I know, I know it has been an American staple for several years, but I am not a coffee drinker and didn't get the fascination.

Well, I had the chance to catch up with Mom and Aunt Lynnae today and the West Des Moines Starbucks, and it was the highlight of my day! My Fat Free Chai Tea Latte was wonderful, but more importantly the company was a breath of fresh air in my chaotic week. I love you, ladies!!!

Horse back riding and other outdoorsy stuff..edited with photos

2008-08-24T20:07:00.000-07:00

We started the day at a birthday party for Sydney and Halle at the Jester Park equestrian center in Granger. It was a very pleasant party. All of the kids were excited to ride the ponies, and the ponies were well behaved. Skylar rode Breaker and Eliza rode (sorry I can't remember I will have to fill in when it hits me). There were about 6 horses in all, I believe, and the party goers took turns with the birthday girls riding twice. (I will upload pictures later and check some of my facts on the video we took) They just casually walked around a ring with trainers leading the horses the whole time, but they encouraged the girls to give commands like Whoa! and Walk on! to learn a little bit about how the horses were trained. I was a little concerned with the kids being scared and walking behind the horses and such, but the kids and the ponies were all very calm. Have I said this was a very pleasant party. Thanks again, Herricks! Happy birthday Sydney and Halle!!!

We then headed back towards home with Delaney along to try our hand at some fishing. Skylar had a melt down Saturday about not having enough family time, so Danny promised a fishing day. Knowing my irritation with heat and bugs this is usually not a long-lived event for me, so I brought our swimming gear along hoping to get to the pool at some point too. We had a very fun time, and I felt like the paparazzi. I had either a camera or video camera going at all times to capture the muddy girls. They were all splashing in the mud at the creek and giggling up a storm. I am so thankful for the video...don't kill me , Jenn, for Delaney's soaked shoes and jeans. There were several worms sacrificed, many fish caught and released, and even a couple fish kissed. We brought three nets along as well, and the girls had fun hunting frogs, butterflies, and grasshoppers also. Thanks for the fun, Dad!!!

We did get to the pool after a couple of hours at the creek. Delaney had fallen in to her thighs and was getting a little annoyed with the wet clothes. The cure...swimsuits. We played in the pool for about 3 hours while Danny mowed the pasture. We had a nice visit with Aunt Kathy and Grandma Mary while we were there too. It was a very nice Summer Sunday...

Celebrating Eliza's birthday

2008-08-23T19:57:00.000-07:00

Grandma and Grandpa Peterson came over today to celebrate Eliza's birthday with us. We did a lot of playing outside and even a board game inside. We ate a nice home cooked meal and enjoyed each other's company. The girls soaked up every second of grandparent time they could as they always do. They had Grandpa and Grandma hopping from the moment they arrived! This time together is priceless, and I am thankful the girls are able to spend this playtime with their grandparents!

Friday, Aug.22

2008-08-22T19:52:00.000-07:00

Well, Eliza fell again today. 2 for 2 with school accidents. The teacher has requested no more flip flops for recess. She is tripping while running by the merry go round. She is looking pretty tough now with a cut on her nose and under her nose. Hopefully we will have better luck next week without the flip flops.

Skylar and Eliza are both still liking school. Can't wait to hear Eliza reading and hear all of the new skills Skylar will be picking up on this year.

Danny and I are headed to a party in Ankeny tonight via an invite from my friend Tina. It will be nice to talk to Tina and her brother and sister. Danny and I don't get out much either, so it is always fun to hang out with him too. : ) The girls are spending the night with Grandma Jo and Papa Neil.

My baby's a Kindergartner

2008-08-21T19:26:00.000-07:00

Well, today is Eliza's first day. YIKES!!! I think the teacher and us have a long year ahead. I had matching outfits for the girls to wear today. They won't let me dress them alike for long, so I will soak it up while it lasts. It makes for good photo ops at least.

We were running around frantically this morning, and we had many plans we weren't able to carry out. I was going to introduce Eliza's teacher to Skylar to make after school go easier. I was going to get a picture of Eliza with her teacher and help them put all of her supplies away. I was supposed to bring birthday treats, so Eliza could be the first birthday girl in class.

Well, we were running into the school as the bell was ringing. PERFECT, not! Turned out I dropped off Eliza, walked Skylar to her classroom, then went back to Eliza's classroom and quietly organized her supplies while her teacher began class. Mrs Cole did a great job organizing the new classmates and trying to not look annoyed by the crazy mother who is always tardy. I even took a couple of photos while in the classroom. I am sure rude sometimes, but I wanted to remember this day despite the chaos. We also forgot the birthday treats, but I went home to retrieve them then dropped them off in the office. No big deal, right!?!

One great thing about all of this chaos...no time to mourn for the loss of my babies. My girls have grown up, and another era has passed. The kids are all in school. I was actually thankful for the distraction and never really took a chance throughout the day even to reflect. Life is just marching on...like it or not. With every new stage there are pros and cons. Here are a few I have since come up with.

Pros:
cheaper day care
my baby is learning and growing
my baby will need us less and less

Cons:
more expensive school lunch and milk bills
my baby is further influenced by others
my baby will need us less and less

Turns out everything went great this first day (except for a fall on the playground). She made it through class, enjoys her classmates, thinks here teacher is really nice, and made it to the bus and daycare perfectly. She was even a birthday princess complete with crown and drawings from each of her classmates as gifts. Why did I have any doubts?

Love you , girl! Take this world by storm one classroom at a time. : )

Skylar's a 3rd grader

2008-08-20T19:13:00.000-07:00

Skylar could not wait for 3rd grade to start and endless days at day care to end. She really enjoys the challenge of school, and I hope this year meets her expectations. She has a new teacher to the Perry School District, Ms. Olson.

Skylar has also said she has a "new style" this year. She pondered over the purchase of these new pink Converse shoes from Grandma and Grandpa Peterson. She has decided they are just her style, and she wants more of them. She came to me wearing a hug ring, and a hat on sideways to go with her look; however, we agreed that wasn't going to work for school. Maybe for a weekend look though.

Good luck this year, honey!

Eliza's 5!!!

2008-08-20T18:48:00.000-07:00

My baby girl is Five today! We started the day with a balloon bouquet and card with stickers and 5 $1 bills in it as a surprise outside her bedroom door as she awoke.

Since it was a work day, we still had to get ready for work and daycare, but at least breakfast was special. Skylar let her wear her princess crown, and she ate hostess cupcakes, after blowing out a candle in them, of course.

The day care staff said that she wore her crown all day and she couldn't wait to get home and open presents. She was sure we would have 5 of them for her at home. : )
Well, there were 4 (2 from Grandma Jo and 2 from Mom, Dad and Skylar). I told her she could count her card from earlier that morning at number 5. From us she received: new clothes and some awesome PJs, 2 Hannah Montana toys, a DORA color by number, a notebook, and double ended crayons. From Grandma Jo she received: a Barbie laptop and a new dance leotard. She was giddy, and her reactions were priceless. I am so thankful for video tape to capture it!

We had an interesting cake also. Since it was only the 4 of us, it seemed silly to go with the traditional cake given that we planned to have cake this weekend. I decided to buy 4 Reese's Peanut Butter Cup candy bars and put candles in them. It was one of the best birthday cakes I have ever had. : )

Meeting the teacher

2008-08-19T17:24:00.000-07:00

It seems liked I raced around the world and back again today. I was up until 3 am this morning because I couldn't sleep which of course, meant I ran late to work. My day was productive but jam packed with meetings and work. I didn't even have a chance for lunch.

I literally jogged out of the office at 2:15, grabbed Burger King, jogged to my car, crossed my fingers that the "low fuel" light in my car was just joking and drove towards home hoping not to be too tardy for our 3:15 appt. with Eliza's new teacher, Mrs. Cole. I even had to make a couple of business calls and calls about vacation plans as I was rushing toward Perry. Why is life so chaotic?

Well, Eliza and I were 5 minutes tardy, and we didn't have time to stop home for her supplies, but Mrs Cole was very understanding. We learned all about the classroom and where Eliza's seat, coat hook, and "mail slot" would be. We learned about bathroom rules, snack and nap time rules. We also worked out that Skylar would pick Eliza up on the way to catch the bus in the afternoon, since Skylar's classroom is right outside the door of Eliza's classroom. This is such a relief to me because I am really dreading Eliza's first week or so. She is my baby, and seems so tiny and vulnerable to me yet. I know she will be fine and can handle her own, but I am having a hard time reconciling it all. I will be there Thursday AM, but not Thursday PM to see how things go.

The teacher even asked Eliza if she would like to be the first birthday girl and bring treats the first day of school on Thursday, since she is 5 on Wednesday. I thought it was very nice of her to ask us about it. Eliza also had some testing done while I talked to the teacher, nurse, and lunch ladies.

Skylar's first day is tomorrow, so we had better get to bed at a decent time tonight at least.

Last summer weekendedited with photos

2008-08-18T21:43:00.000-07:00

Delaney spent the night on Friday, and the girls ended up spending the whole weekend together. They made tents, played moon sand, and hung out in our back yard on Saturday until being forced to clean up ( "blow the stink off" as I call it ) late in the afternoon. We then headed over to Jenn's for an Anniversary celebration for Danny's Aunt Kathy and Uncle Kirk. It was their 40th anniversary.

Happy Anniversary Kirk and Kathy!!!

Skylar ended up spending the night with Delaney that night, then Eliza and I met back up with them at the Farm for one last dip in the pool before school on Sunday. We soaked up the 90 degree weather and 88 degree pool water until the sun went down. I even got a little reading in. It turned out to be a very relaxing day. Kathy and Jenn treated us to a wonderful dinner of porcupine meatballs and corn on the cob also. Perfect summer day, really. Thanks, Jenn and Eliza for making me get out of the house...Iwas having a hard time getting motivated to vacate my pj's Sunday AM.

I wish Danny would have been there, but he did have some fun too. He spent the day riding 4-wheeler with some friends then relaxing in our cool basement at home in the peace and quiet. I am sure it was the perfect summer day from his perspective too. : )

Back to work

2008-08-15T21:32:00.000-07:00

Back to work today. Thank goodness for my Blackberry I didn't have too many e-mails to catch up with, but had plenty of work to choose from. I actually had a pretty productive Thursday and Friday to round out the week with not too many meetings and a few "to-dos" crossed off.

Left a little early on Friday to check out Azalea's restaurant at 400 Locust for http://www.azaleadsm.com/ a United Way event I have been recruited to help with. This is a fairly new downtown Des Moines restaurant that recently received some press from visitors during the caucuses. Loved the ambience and the menu, and the prices were extremely reasonable too. They have some good old Iowa food like homemade noodles and free range chicken along with Angus Beef and locally raised pork along with some gourmet sides and a great wine selection. I am hopeful that we go with this venue for our event, so I may experience the cuisine first hand.

I took the girls to sign up for dance class Friday also. We signed up for hip hop and tumbling along with their regular tap, ballet , and jazz classes. When I say we, I mean we too. I even signed up for a class. Jenn, Joell, and I convinced them to offer an adult hip hop class, and we start on Saturdays in October. This should be funny. : )

After dance registration, we ate at the Christian Church and let the girls play a little at Perry's Friday fest downtown Perry. They played in several "bounce houses", but Eliza's favorite was the giant slide. She used all but one of her tickets on that one ride and kept inventing "new moves" on the ride down. She twisted while sliding and landed on her side several times. That child has no fear.

prayers needed

2008-08-13T20:38:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to pass this blog address on to those of you reading out there. http://katiebloomprogress.blogspot.com One of my high school classmates suffered a brain bleed a few weeks after having her 3rd child, and was given little to no hope for survival let alone quality of life. Well, that was nearly 4 weeks ago, and she is recovering, walking, talking, remember, and hopefully going to physical therapy Friday.

Just wanted to pass on her miracle story and illicit any prayers you could offer up for continued recovery. She and I weren't close, but we were in a bible study together at school and she was a really sweet girl in high school.

AWKWARD

2008-08-13T19:26:00.001-07:00

Not much to post today...went back to work after vacation and had a hard time readjusting. Oh well, that's life, I guess.

I did have a funny conversation with Skylar tonight, though. She was sorting school supplies and organizing her new school bag, so I started singing in the kitchen. (Did I mention school supplies make me happy?)

Mom: (singing) School supplies ...they are so cool! School supplies...they make me drool! (I should be a songwriter, huh?)
Skylar: MOM!
Mom: Yes, honey? Did you hear my cool new song.
Skylar: AWKWARD!!!
Mom: What's wrong?
Skylar: Most mom's don't sing about school supplies.
Mom: YES! I have done my parental job for the day. I have made my child think I am strange. : )
Skylar: (rolling the eyes and giggling)

I am soooo looking forward to many more eye rolling, giggling days ahead. : )

Back to schooledited with photos

2008-08-12T19:17:00.000-07:00

Well, we had a day to get ready for back to school today. Eliza had to get her kindergarten check up and 5 immunizations and a blood test. RIDICULOUS!!! No child should have to go through all of that at once. She screamed and I cried. I don't know what was worse. She quickly recovered though, and we headed to the McDonald's play land for dinner and a little play.

Then, to Wal-Mart for school supplies and school hair cuts. YAY!!! I love school supply shopping. Eliza got an Elmo backpack and Skylar got a camo messenger bag. No more boring back pack for her. Why are they getting so big!?!? : (

Finally, we met friends for dinner at Cheddar's. Danny and I have childhood friends that I thought should meet each other. Andy was Danny's classmate and now lives in Kansas City and Tina is my classmate and lives in Ankeny. It was a little difficult and weird to find a place for them to meet, but I thought it was worth the chance. Setting people up is hard, but at 30 something, I was willing to take a shot for both of them to meet someone nice possibly. Bars just don't cut it as ideal meeting places... They've now met and have each other's numbers. My fingers are crossed.

vacation Aug. 7-12edited with one photo

2008-08-11T19:14:00.000-07:00

I have been on vacation and will add a long post soon with photos. Danny, Jenn, Tim and I went to Brainerd, MN on our annual trip to the NHRA drag races. http://www.brainerdinternationalraceway.com/

We decided Danny and I had been going for 9 years now.

Here is a photo of our first night tradition. Minigolfing at Pirate's Cove.

Work,work,work

2008-08-05T21:11:00.001-07:00

Where do I start? I haven't posted in over a week.

July 26&27th I scrapbooked with some great friends. Judy hosted a crop at the Perry Library complete with M&M cookie birthday treats for me on Saturday. : ) It seemed like forever since I had seen some of the gals, and I managed to get quite a few pages done too. I saw Jenn for the first time since her Florida vacation. Man, I missed that girl!!! Sunday even included some Mother/Daughter scrapbooking on Sunday with Skylar. I think she enjoyed it. She enjoyed playing Wii with Kevin and Delaney even more though I think. We had another Sunday weather adventure as well with tornado sirens and crazy wind! When will this insane weather stop?

July 28th-August 1 Work, Work, Work and more work. Not much else exciting going on in our world this week.

Aug.2-Spent the day at the Farm swimming and sunbathing. Perfect summer day...

Aug. 3-Cleaned, Cleaned, Cleaned

Pretty boring few days, huh?!? Well, it may be a while again before my next post because we are getting ready for or annual Brainerd vacation for the NHRA national drag races.http://www.nhra.com/content/preview.asp?articleid=2440&zoneid=90&y=&navsource=16

I CANNOT WAIT!!! I love the smell of NITRO in the morning!! Thanks Mom , John, Dad, and Carol for helping with the kids!!!

33+3

2008-07-25T17:55:00.000-07:00

Friday is here, and this is our last day to get our family trip to Adventureland in. It turned out that Danny was feeling a little better and wanted to venture out, so we started slow with a ride to Panora for a little work for Danny and a little swimming lesson for the girls.

We went back to Perry and ran errands while waiting for Danny to finish a few things at work. It was 4pm before we left for Altoona, but we were not going to let that get us down!

We stayed until the park closed at 10pm and had may firsts:
1)We all went on a water ride together.
2)Skylar rode the Galleon with me, then with Danny
3) I won Danny a prize
4)Danny won me a prize on Skee ball
5) We got our family portrait taken as PIRATES at the old fashioned photo shop
6) I tried mini donuts (YUM!!!)
7) Eliza had an 'accident' on the frog hopper.(It was about her 6th ride. and her bladder had enough...)
8) Eliza rode the Skylift chairs

Finally, the big story of the day is that Danny won the JUMBO prize at one game. You know that elusive prize that calls people to the game, but you never see any more than the small prize being given out? We were about to leave the park and saw a set of games we hadn't tried yet. Their prize was very cute. A shark with big eyes and a short little body. Sort of an animated looking animal. Anyway, Danny got a little demo from the game tender and gave it a shot. The object was to hook all three fish, but the closer the hook got to them, the more likely it was that they would jump off of the table. Well, Danny hooked the first one no problem...then the second... The gal working the game said,
"No one has done that all day, and I have never seen all 3 go." Next second passes, and he has hooked the 3rd fish. HERO AWARD FOR THE DAY GOES TO DANNY CUNNINGHAM!!! Amazing how a silly carnival game can make you feel so GOOD... : ) I will have to post a pic of the prize soon!

33+2

2008-07-24T17:23:00.000-07:00

Day 5 of birthday week is looking up a little.

Danny is still feeling ill, but Skylar is feeling better! The sky is looking gray and there is some lightning, so swimming lessons are cancelled. We needed an excuse to sleep in anyway. : )

The girls and I decided to go to Blank Park Zoo after the skies cleared after lunch, then do a little mall time. Skylar's favorite at the zoo was the new mine. We bought a bag of rock and strained it through the water trough they built to discover real gemstones. She got several big stones, and had fun showing them off and admiring them.

Eliza's favorite was the tiger. This was the first time I have been to the zoo with the girls and stood and watched an animal for a significant amount of time. Usually we buzz by, snap a photo, and keep moving. Well, this time Eliza was mesmerized. The tiger was pacing back and forth in him enclosure and moved really close to the glass on each pass. When she was finally ready to move on the tiger stopped and looked right at us. It was actually a little creepy.

My favorite was the giraffes. There were 3 giraffes, and we were the only patrons watching them when we first arrived. The largest one moved toward us from the far back of his habitat and sort of watched us. Next thing we know the other 2 were moving close as well. We watched them eat grass, try to step over sticks in their way, and interact with each other. It was pretty interesting to see, since I normally only see one giraffe sort of standing there quietly when we visit the zoo.

We headed to the mall after the zoo for a new purse for myself. The Gift Certificate I received from Dad was burning a hole in my pocket. I also promised the girls they could play in the play area and have a pretzel. These are both treats since I am usually so rushed at the mall that I say no to both. Such a mean mom... We ended up buying a few new school outfits and shoes also, so it was a pretty enjoyable girl's day.

33+1

2008-07-23T17:17:00.000-07:00

Well, day 4 of birthday week isn't shaping up to be too exciting. Right after the Drive-in Danny fell ill, and it was a restless night for both of us. We stayed in Newton overnight hoping to pick up my car from Ankeny(after a much needed oil change) then the kids from Panora.

Well, it turns out my car's alignment was off and ruined the tires. We needed to replace the tires, and the car wouldn't be ready for a day or so. I guess it was a blessing in disguise because Danny was in no shape to drive, and I didn't have to work anyway.

Finally, as we got closer to home, I got a call for Grandma Jo saying Skylar was sick through the night too.

I guess it is movie day and nursing day at home today. Wish the whole family felt better, but I couldn't really say it was horrible to stay in and watch movies together. We saw Monster House, Penelope, and Definitely, Maybe.

33 on the 22nd

2008-07-22T14:58:00.000-07:00

Today is the day, and there couldn't be more meetings and deadlines at work. Why does that always happen? Of all days...I wish this would be a slow one where everything is ready and under control. However, quarter end info is still not finalized, and there were many errors we found way too late that we now have to wade through. Usually I would blame it on my procrastination, but that is honestly not the case this time. What a fun day ...NOT!

After 6 o'clock hit though, look out! I was out of there to meet Danny for our birthday celebration. We planned to go to Newton to the Valle Drive - In. http://www.drive-ins.com/theater/iatvall

First, we went to A&W and bought some dinner.

Danny filled the back of his pickup with an air mattress, pillows, and lots of blankets. We bought snacks, toured around taking photos and chatting with the owner, then settled in for the double feature.

All I can say is AWESOME!!! I talked to Dad at one point in the evening and asked why he never told me about Drive-ins before. I was just captivated by the whole experience. The sound was great, the picture was perfect, lounging under the stars on a beautiful summer night was amazing. Having snacks and movie theater popcorn nearby was just a bonus!!!

We saw the Dark Knight and Journey to the Center of the Earth. The Dark Knight was unbelievable. Heath Ledger's performance made us sad that he is gone...he gave such a wonderful performance. Journey to the Center of the Earth was really pretty fluffy and silly, but we watched it nonetheless.

If you have never been to a Drive In, GO!!!! I enjoyed the whole experience immensely.

Monday of birthday week

2008-07-21T14:34:00.000-07:00

Well, the day started out with a bang (and a loud siren). I was awakened by the tornado sirens at 3:10 am . We had 2 extra girls, Sydney and Halle, in the house too. I ran for Halle and Eliza and Danny woke Sydney and Skylar, and we all headed to the basement. Half way down the stairs, the electricity went off too.

After bedding down in the basement for a few minutes, we decided we better get the girls in the closet under the stairs. The wind was really bending the trees onto the deck and toward the house, the sky was an odd color, and the wind noise was extremely scary. It is the closest I every want to be to actually being in a tornado. Here is what hunkering down in our closet looked like.

After we got some candles going and Danny got some water out of sump pump basin, we decided the storm had let up enough to try and get at least a few hours of sleep. What a start to the week.!?!?!

After a long chaotic day at work, I did come home to a fun surprise in the mail. My pajama pants I ordered from Target.

Like the pose? : ) Happy early birthday to me! Lovin' those owls still!

My birthday week begins!

2008-07-20T09:50:00.000-07:00

I don't know why my birthday means so much to me, but I have always loved it. It is one day a year I always put high expectations on, therefore, sometimes I am disappointed. This year I am celebrating all week! No way could I be disappointed with a whole week of activities planned, right!?! At least a couple of the days have to work out!

Sunday's plan was to attend the I-Cubs game with Danny in Aviva's season ticket seats. Baseball games are one of my favorite simple pleasures, and going to the I-Cubs around my birthday has become a tradition.

It was about 100 degrees and humid, but the seats were great! There was a guy sitting behind us that knew everything about everything, screamed when he talked, and swore like a sailor that we could have done withougt though. Guess it takes all kinds. I was pretty proud of enduring him and the heat without " incident ". : )

The I-Cubs won 2-1, and I enjoyed the start to my birthday week very much!!!

Farewell to the Peterson's

2008-07-20T07:53:00.000-07:00

We spent a fun filled day in Marion with Liz, Hailey, and Hayden (sister in law, niece and nephew) yesterday. Dan went ahead and started work in Colorado on July 1, but the rest of the family is moving from Iowa to Colorado next week. We went over for an early birthday party for our niece and her Iowa friends (and I suppose to say good-bye for now...but I don't want to think about it).

Liz planned a fun party at a gymnastics place for the girls, and they had a blast. Even Hayden rolled around on the mats squealing, running, and falling down. The kids could literally bounce off of everything even the walls in the foam pit. However, I forgot my camera!! I hope I have pictures to add to this post sometime.

We spent the rest of the afternoon at Dan, Liz, Hailey, and Hayden' s home with Grandma and Grandpa Peterson and Aunt Janelle. The kids had a lot of fun and wore themselves and Grandpa and Grandma out. It was an extremely warm day, but that doesn't stop the kids from going outside. It does keep this AC mama (Danny's words...not mine, but true) inside.

Hayden is changing and growing so fast, and I will miss them all dearly!!! Hopefully we will work out a way to share photos regularly and visit lots too.

Love you guys and miss you already! Hope Colorado treats you well, or I will come beat it up. : )

D-Day

2008-07-18T21:11:00.000-07:00

Decision day has come and gone. We have decided to turn this opportunity down in hopes that the next one makes more sense to us timing wise. Wrapping our heads around what to do with the business, the house, and moving into a new culture is a lot of commitment with not a lot of time to decide.

I am holding out hope that we will be ready the next time, and that the position offered fits well. I have always dreamed of doing this. Immersing myself into a new culture seems like such a challenge and adventure...I just have to get all our lives in order to accept the chance next time.

Interesting Opportunity?

2008-07-15T20:51:00.000-07:00

What would you do , if your boss's boss presented the opportunity to you and 3 of your co-workers the chance to work on a large project for 12-18 months in the UK? There will be no black mark on your record for a no answer, and this isn't the only opportunity you will ever be given. There will be other chances most likely. The power is in your hands to negotiate the terms, and you have the chance to take the whole family and pick up stakes, just travel yourself 2 weeks on and 2 weeks off or anything in between? You have 4 days to state how firm your interest is in order to work through ALL of the specifics.

Well, this is what happened to me at 8:15 this morning.

The furthest we have gotten is that I think it sounds exciting, and the family would have to come with me in order to make it happen.

These next 3 days of thinking will be long ones...

3 Hour Emotional Rollercoaster

2008-07-14T20:31:00.000-07:00

Well, I had a pretty typical crazy day at work today. Quarter end is still in full swing, had many meetings, and had to get my boss up to speed after a week away for her. I caught the elevator at 5:15 and reached for my phone. 3 missed calls from Danny...this can't be good. After all, I hate it when he doesn't pick up too.

It turns out Eliza has been sick with an ear ache all day. The easiest thing would be to go to the clinic in Perry at 7am, but I have a meeting in Des Moines at 8:15 am tomorrow. Therefore, I decide I need to get Eliza to the Urgent Care clinic in Ankeny tonight, and I am late to daycare AGAIN! (emotion=frustration)

When I got to daycare, Eliza's poor pale face and weakness reinforced the decision to go to Ankeny tonight. (emotion=worry)

Skylar, Eliza, and I jump in the car ready to head straight to Ankeny, and Skylar is bursting with something to tell me. She has played and played her Nintendo DS DOGS game and has managed to finally earn enough points with the help of a classmate to buy a new dog! She is a Yorkie and her name is Daisy. (emotion=excitement)

20 minutes outside of Perry I hear uncontrollable sobs coming from the bag seat and Skylar is slumped down in her seat. She cannot place Daisy into a contest until she trains her in her home gym, and the gym won't let her in! This causing the hairs to instantly go up on the back of my neck, but I resist the urge to yell. (hard as that is) (emotion=anger AND frustration)

Instead, Skylar and I proceed to have a 15 minute conversation about why crying won't help, why she should calm down and think of a solution to her problem, and why crying should be reserved for the really big issues only. Nintendo DS issues don't qualify. Her answer to me was, "Mom, sometimes people just cry because they are frustrated. Don't yell at me, if I cry, just let me be frustrated." WOW! Did that sound familiar?!?! I guess she came by her emotions honestly. I am sure my parents and Danny can relate to this conversation. Hopefully someday I will be able to help myself, so I can help her as well. My emotions still win over my head time and time again. (emotion=self reflection, don't know if that is really an emotion)

Well, after waiting for an hour and a half in the waiting room with Eliza, the doctor diagnosed her with swimmer's ear. The whole time we were waiting, Skylar was hugging Eliza and rubbing her back. Too cute! Skylar even told her she would give her anything or do anything to make her feel better. Eliza was pretty cuddly tonight too, which is the only bonus to kids being sick.(emotion=Love)

Skylar read Eliza to sleep tonight and is sleeping in Eliza's room tonight to keep her company while she is sick. (emotion=Pride)

I have had many similar days and am sure I should prepare for a lifetime more with these girls. Just thought blogging it all out would be fun to look at down the road. : ) Do mothers of boys have these issues?!?! Food for thought.

Lazy Sunday

2008-07-13T17:23:00.000-07:00

The last day off before another long work week. I am not a big fan of Sundays because they spell the end of the weekend. Once Monday gets here, I am good to go, but something about the anticipation of the end of the weekend makes me sad.

The girls and I woke up this morning and attacked their rooms. We filled one industrial size garbage bag with toys and garbage from their rooms. Eliza's toy box now looks much more manageable, she has a few more puzzles with all of the pieces, and all of her shoes have found matches again. I think the girls get their cleaning skills (or lack thereof) from their mother.

Next, we ate some cereal and curled up to a couple of cartoons before inspiration hit for me to scrapbook and Skylar to play computer games. Skylar has been playing feeding frenzy and webkinz lately.

Eliza spent the day uncleaning everything we cleaned this morning and more. She has yet to master the art of playing with one thing, putting it away, then playing with another. My persuasive yelling and scolding isn't helping it sink in either. : ) One day at a time with that lesson.

I also took some photos of the girls during a dress up session today too. They were literally all dressed up with no place to go, but I couldn't resist their cuteness. I managed to get a few pages done too. Here are some photos of our accomplishments today.

Happy Monday, everyone!

Inaugural Post

2008-07-12T21:23:00.000-07:00

I have been envious for a couple of years now of those people who are able to use their blog posts to help with their scrapbook journalling. However, I am not very technologically advanced. Well, I finally decided to give it a whirl. Hope this works out.

I am an Iowan born and raised. I have never lived anywhere else and went to High School and College within 40 miles of each other. I am a farmer's daughter and don't mind getting my hands dirty. However, I chose to become an accountant. A legacy from my Maternal Grandmother. She was a bookkeeper and shared her work with me at a very young age. My love for crafts and the written word come from her as well as my mother. They are both wonderful seamstresses and mom has branched out into many other crafts over the years as well; mom used to write poetry and also writes a mean newsletter. I also love music (listening, singing, and playing it). My Paternal Grandmother got me started on piano lessons, and I was hooked. Dad plays guitar, organ, and sings. Mom and Grandma play piano also. I wish they would have done it more as I grew up, but I now hope to pass this love of music on to my children.

I now live in Perry, Iowa with my husband of 11 years who is also my high school sweetheart. We have 2 wonderful girls, Skylar age 8 and Eliza age 4. They will both be in school next year, and a new chapter in our life will unfold.