The Redmans

new chapter

2012-01-04T16:38:00.005-06:00

This post is quite personal and I'm just trying to lay things out and get things off my chest. I'm hoping it will help me.

I've been really down in the dumps lately and I can't seem to get out of this slump. It seemed to start after Thanksgiving when I was still in school, finals approaching.

The last semester of my "college life" had really been the worst of them all. I'm not sure if it was because of the particular classes I was taking or because it just was my last semester and I couldn't wait to be done. I was really ready to be done, but the assignments were not done and I still needed to finish them.

I also have felt anxiety about finishing up school and finding a job, starting my own business or something else, so that probably had a lot to do with it...because FYI--I haven't had a job in almost 7 1/2 years. I was able to settle in with my classes and knew what to expect with my requirements and I really got comfortable with it, but now I have to change and focus on my future and what opportunities are out there are for me.

Throughout the last 3 1/2 years of school I really tried to be successful and be a better student than I was the first time around (right after high school) when I didn't have goals or even cared about grades. But this time I did have goals and I was able to reach them with 4.0 GPA's each and every semester! Great, right?...whatever. People seem to think it's great and I should be happy and proud of myself but why don't I feel this way?

So, I survived my last weeks of finals but with a few extra gray hairs and a lot of tears. I should be glad it's over but I don't really feel that way at all. As I'm typing this the thought came to me that maybe it's a normal feeling--being depressed about the changes. Maybe other people have felt this way too? Or maybe just the overly sensitive-and-insecure-stay-at-home-moms-who-go-back-to-school-to-find-themselves-and-didn't-actually-find-themselves kind of people. (aka: me)

Don't go feeling sorry for me (if you have). Feel sorry for my husband and my kids who have been there for me and supported me through this "nightmare". They are the ones who should have left me and gone on with their lives. But they didn't, they are still here and still love me. I couldn't go a day without them. They are amazing. My husband is amazing and I am so lucky to have him. Anyone else would have been g.o.n.e. LOVE U NATE.

Now that it's a new year, I'm trying something new to try to lift my spirits. I went out today and bought a cute little pink leather journal and I hope to write in it every night. I want to write not of my day but of little things that make me happy and little things I'm thankful for.

because those are the things that really matter.

it never fails, she makes me laugh

2011-07-13T14:08:00.003-05:00

Just had to share these few with the blog...Lydia cannot keep a straight face, not that I'd want her to

and C...without any front teeth!

December Favorites

2011-01-03T16:25:00.006-06:00

Sorry I haven't posted here in ages. Here are some of my favorites from December with Christmas and Lydia's Birthday

This was Cassidy's first school program. She is the one near the middle above the piano with the blue and black dress.

We had lots of snow last month and during a blizzard we got some really good snow for making snowmen, here was our family of snowmen, but now they have melted some and are in shambles.

Christmas morning the girls had fun opening their gifts

We gave them dolls and made doll beds for each with their own special bedding and outfits with help from grandma!

For Lydia's 3rd Birthday we celebrated by going to House of Bounce and saw the movie Tangled!

For Lydia's party we took everyone out for pizza and bowling!

She tried so hard to blow out those candles and finally let all of her friends (cousins) help her out!
Grandma makes quilts for all of the grandkids. Lydia's turned out so cute! I can't wait to re-do her room to match!

Well, my winter break is almost over. I thought I had 2 more weeks, but unfortunately I got an email this morning giving me the news that classes start next monday :( It felt like it went by fast and it didn't help that I had the flu for part of the week before Christmas so I was ripped off a bit. Back to reality I guess!

Sara

I lost my motivation

2010-10-16T16:25:00.004-05:00

This post is a bit of a rant, vent of frustration, something I have to get off my chest. I've got some issues with people, professors, fellow students...etc, etc, basically everyone and that includes myself. First, this fall has been stressful to say the least. I've been pulled every direction from everywhere and can't seem to say no to anyone. Well, I should clarify: I'm starting to say no to people and it feels very liberating!
I've got a hefty school schedule this fall, although it's *only* 9 credits the classes are not easy: Chemistry, Art History and Computer Graphics II. I just feel like the amount of stuff to know and remember is unrealistic. I've had 2 tests already in chem, and will be taking my 2nd test in AH next week. It's probably because I'm getting old, but I don't care, it's an amazing amount of stuff to know.
Moving on...I've been asked to take pictures for our church directory this fall, a very fulfilling job that I am glad I was asked to do. What a wonderful thing it is to be able to combine a hobby/passion with giving and serving! We'll be wrapping that project up hopefully soon.
Along with church pictures people have been finding out that I like to take pictures and I've been asked to take 2 seniors this fall and with a family sometime soon. An interesting direction that may be part of my future, but who knows.
So with all of the extra stuff, along with so much more that I haven't mentioned and won't, plus school, I'm feeling a little burdened, stressed, maxed out. In addition to that I've lost motivation for the things that are important like homework, housework, meals, and most importantly family. I need a kick in the pants to get excited about school again. I think that is the problem. If I just get excited again that would make everything else easier. Without the motivation I just want to veg out and do the least amount of stuff to get by.
The end is near though. I have 2 more semesters left and then I will be done! I'll graduate next December with 3 degrees! So maybe I just need to remember that it won't be long and the original reason why I'm going back to school; to better myself and most importantly: my family.

Last day of Preschool

2010-05-26T14:23:00.004-05:00

Her last day of school was monday. And a hot and humid day it was! When I picked her up from school she was all hot and sweaty, yuk! They must not have turned the air on at school.
It's funny to think back to last september when she started school to now and see such an improvement in socializing, skills, artistically, and maturity. Lately she's been talking about a certain boy a lot. I don't know him or the family, but she likes him a lot. I asked if he was her boyfriend, she said "yes, but he's not Lindsay's boyfriend." Okay...I'll just let it go.
I had to take a picture of her on the last day, hopefully making that a tradition through the years:

And Miss Lydia had to get in there and pose too. It's impossible to keep a straight face with this kid.

Visiting Santa

2009-12-19T10:29:00.003-06:00

We visited Santa at John Deere earlier this month.
It was really great this year, no screaming, crying or protesting!

Lydia only cared about her treat
The tractor ride was a big hit, again, no protesting-a first!

artwork

2009-11-07T08:20:00.003-06:00

Cassidy felt the need to make a picture for her daddy since he is hunting this weekend. She said she was going to miss him and he needed a picture of a deer and this is what she came up with. I love the little smiley face and the big red heart above him!

Halloween

2009-11-03T09:00:00.004-06:00

We didn't get too excited about Halloween this year. In fact, I only spent $10 on a costume. I wasn't excited about spending a lot when they only wear it a couple hours. I guess you could call me lazy-I didn't feel like "making" something either. Ugh, what's happening to me?
I was pretty lazy with pictures too. It was a little cool and windy so I didn't want them out long and didn't want them to get cranky either. So I took a few and I'm going to try to be happy with the ones I got.

This is the only one where Lydia and Cassie are both looking my direction

Lydia was so dang cute in her kitty. After I put her nose and whiskers on she just stared in the mirror with no emotion. I still don't know if she liked it or hated it.

As usual, Cassie was shy for trick or treating, but once Lydia figured out what the heck was going on, she just went up to people and reached in their bowl of candy. What a go-getter!

It's that time of year again!

2009-10-30T09:39:00.002-05:00

The girls enjoyed carving pumpkins this year!

Lydia would sneak a pumpkin seed or two:
Cassidy carved her own design for Lydia's pumpkin.

I carved this bat for Cassie:
They turned out pretty cute!

If you give a kid a camera.....

2009-10-02T08:06:00.003-05:00

You end up with lots of pictures. Lots of blurry pictures I might add.
I had to send in my camera to get cleaned two weeks ago and had to dust off my little pocket sized camera. Cassie got her hands on it one evening:
Too bad that was blurry, it was a pretty good smile out of Lydia.

We have lots of pictures of our vehicle now.

Apparently Lydia likes to help feed the dogs!

A self portrait:

and again:

And lots of pictures of the dogs. Here is a sampling:
Oops, wrong end!

about 10 minutes ago:

2009-09-21T11:16:00.000-05:00

Me: How was school today?

Cassie: Fun! How was home?

First day of Preschool

2009-09-17T18:12:00.005-05:00

She was so excited, as I was too. She has been a little nervous about it, but did just fine this morning. When I picked her up at daycare, she told me she got mail at school and she played with her best friend, Lindsay. Then as we got out of the vehicle at home, I had my bookbag over my shoulder and she had hers and said, "hey! We both went to school today!" Yes we did, girlie, yes we did.

Interview with Cassidy

2009-09-16T11:40:00.002-05:00

I've been meaning to do this for a long time. Just some simple Q&A's. Love her simple answers.

What is your favorite color? Bright Pink

What is your favorite story? stories about dogs

Who is your best friend? Lindsay

What is your favorite food? Hot dogs

Who do you like to talk to on the phone? Grandma

What do you want to be when you grow up? a firefighter like daddy

What is your favorite song? Twinkle little star

What is your favorite movie/TV Show? Homeward Bound/Playhouse Disney

What is your favorite thing to do with Lydia? Play with dolls & dogs

What makes you happy? When daddy puts a bandaid on and kisses my owie.

I have a 5 year old??

2009-09-08T18:39:00.005-05:00

It doesn't seem real. She. is. five. Five! I look back and wonder how time could have slipped by so fast, but then again, it hasn't. That doesn't make any sense, but it does seem like five years came and went in a blink. And now look at her, all grown up:
This is the dollhouse we gave her for her birthday. Nate started building it from scratch 2 weeks after she was born. We spent every winter working on it and recently furnished it so we could give it to her. She's been playing with it for 2 days straight!
We had her party yesterday. She loves mickey mouse clubhouse and minnie mouse. So, we needed to have a minnie party!

She got lots of great gifts, and she especially loves her Cars movie. She's been asking for it for years. Finally someone got the hint!! LOL!! We've already watched it once today.
I (I mean my mom) made her outfit. We made the skirt slightly large in case we decide to go to disney next year, then it will still fit.

I just sent the birthday girl to bed, she's been a sad and spoiled girl the last two days. Now time to re-program!

Lydia's 1st haircut

2009-09-02T13:33:00.003-05:00

Lydia got her hair cut for the first time today. Trish said that in the 10+ years that she's been cutting hair, Lydia is her best 1st haircut client! Lydia sat so still and patient while Trish cut it and then showed her in the mirror. Lydia looked and said "BABY!"

BEFORE:

So shaggy!

AFTER:

Now she looks like a big girl!

Mini Vacation

2009-07-21T11:15:00.009-05:00

Two weeks ago we took a little road trip over to South Dakota. We stayed in Sioux Falls 2 days and then went up to see Jill in Brookings on our last day.
Sioux Falls is a very nice town with lots to do. We arrived around lunchtime and went to the zoo.
Lydia liked all of the animals and even liked this camel. Nate wanted to ride on the camel with Cassidy, but she didn't want to get near it.
This was as close to riding anything as she would get!

This peacock was just roaming around hoping someone would feed him!

and we did!

On our second day we started out at the butterfly house. That was pretty fun to see all of the butterflies up close and sometimes they landed on us.

Here's a big moth that landed on my upper arm. It peed on me!

Later we spent the afternoon at the mall and in the evening we went to Falls Park. So pretty!
My little poser, She wanted me to take this picture! Maybe she's getting out of that stage of not wanting a picture taken? I can only hope.
On our last day, we traveled up to Brookings which is about an hour drive from Sioux Falls. It seems to be a nice place for Jill & Eddie. His store looks great and is a fun place to shop.
We went out for lunch and played at the swimming pool then left for home.
Vacationing is tough on 18 month kids. She did not enjoy the 4 1/2 hour drive and neither did we! But we're glad we went!

cowgirls & cousins

2009-07-16T13:41:00.002-05:00

Two weeks ago we went to visit my sister's farm to ride horse. It's actually her friend's farm, but she keeps her horse there and lets us come to ride every now and then.

Lydia rode first! This was her first time on a horse, doesn't she look like she knows exactly what to do?? It was so cute, she was gripping with her little legs and holding on tight to the horn. She really enjoyed riding the "hoo-hee" (horsie)

This is Dubbs. Not my sister's horse, but a nice old horse that's great for kids.
Cassie loves riding with her cousins.
Lydia loved petting the fluffy kitties. Our clothes were full of cat hair when we left!

Thanks for letting us come and ride!

June Happenings

2009-07-11T10:39:00.011-05:00

WARNING: LONG POST!
I realize it's almost the middle of July, but before I add anything that has happened this month, I thought I should go back to June because it was pretty eventful.

For the third year, we planted our vegetable garden and grew our first radishes, and nobody likes to eat these in our house other than me, so they were all mine. They could have been a little hotter, but I won't complain too much. At least they grew! Other things in the garden: Beans, peas, carrots, lettuce, spinach, tomatoes, asparagus, jalapenos and sunflowers. We planted cucumbers, but we think they got overrun by weeds and didn't make it. Currently we're trying to stay on top of the weeds, and trying to be much better about it than previous years. Maybe next year on those cucumbers??!!
The second full week in June was our first time attending VBS (vacation bible school) at our church. Around 65 kids attended and it was so much fun. Cassidy still talks about it. They had a safari theme and I helped with crafts. Every day was something different and the kids kept very busy because they had different activities every 30 minutes. Here is the preschool class during their program on the last night:
Cassidy is in the front with the zebra hat. They made them in their classroom and I think she still has it in her bedroom. I had to staple it a few times because Lydia got her hands on it!

The following 2 weeks we had swimming lessons everyday in town. Again it was our first experience with lessons, so I wasn't sure what to expect because Cassidy has been so scared of water. She would cry & scream in the tub if a tiny drop of water got on her face. So I was sure we were going to go to lessons, because we needed to get over this "fear".
The first day was bad. I wasn't sure if we were even able to make it the next day. The teacher taught them how to do a bob, back floats, and at the end of that first day they were jumping off the side! Cassidy was very proud and excited and was ready for another day! She even called her daddy and told him all about it while he was at work.
The last day was their test day. All of the kids passed easily. Here is Cassie jumping off the diving board:
Even I can't do that!!
And her face is all wet too!! YAY Cassidy! We're so proud of you!

Nate was in a wedding in June. It was Deron (he was our best man) and Erin's wedding. Erin has become a good friend of mine as well as my hairdresser.
We had a wonderful time and the day couldn't have been nicer. 80 degrees and no humidity, lucky for them! You can check out more pictures at the photographer's blog. Congrats Deron & Erin!

That's about it for June. I'll leave you with this picture, my favorite. She never looks at the camera and when she does it's quick and usually without a smile. I was a lucky to get this one!!

Lydia-18 Months

2009-06-30T14:30:00.006-05:00

Isn't she just the cutest? We love her to death and couldn't imagine our lives without her. She's got such a fun personality and keeps us on our toes.
She's such a smartie pants, for example, this morning Daddy and Cassie were playing Wii baseball and Lydia seemed to want to join in the fun. She ran over to the toy basket in the corner of the room and dug out the little plastic Wii remote that we got from a happy meal long ago and started pointing it at the TV. I understand that it's quite a simple thing that she did, but we don't play the Wii very often, and I think she's pretty smart to make that connection. She understands a whole lot more than we give her credit for. Funny.
About 3 1/2 weeks ago we took away her pacifier, aka nookie. She handled it better than I thought she would. We only had about 2 days of difficulty and after that it was a breeze. We've replaced her nookie with a cd player which has really helped her settle down. I'm so glad we decided to take it away sooner than later since we've heard so many horror stories about other kiddos and their "addiction".

**photos taken at Lake Louise.

Life is tough...

2009-05-20T08:28:00.002-05:00

My poor Lydia. It all started 2 1/2 weeks ago. She got pinkeye and we didn't even think it was pinkeye, so she suffered 2 whole days with it until we took her in. Things were going good, until the 10th day of her medicine...She developed a rash. And not just a little spot on her arm, but an all-over-the-body rash with little red bumps. She was really uncomfortable, so I took her in right away to our regular dr. and he figured it was an allergy to the medicine that has amoxicillin in it. Nice. So she possibly is allergic to penicillin. Nice.
We were told to stop taking the medicine and let it run its course. Fast forward a few days (late last week), and she developed pinkeye yet again! So another trip to the dr, and he was a little shocked that she still had the rash, that it was worse than 2 days before, and also has pinkeye again. This time she got eyedrops. Wow. If you have never given a 16 month old eyedrops, you are lucky. It's just not that fun, I'll leave it at that.
By Saturday this poor child has a nasty rash, pinkeye, and then developed a low grade fever on top of it all.
Things didn't get any better on monday when I was busy yapping on the phone in our bedroom and in the next room, Lydia climbed halfway up her dresser when it fell over ON TOP OF HER! It was so surreal to me when I ran in there, throwing dresser drawers off of her. She cried so hard, but didn't even end up with a bruise. So scary.
Yesterday we went to the dr again so he could see how her rash was, and I explained how she's had a little fever, but otherwise fine. He checked her over and found out she has an ear infection. I'm so glad that there was an explination for all of this. Hopefully this new medicine will work for her and she'll be back to her normal goofy self in a couple days!

film photography

2009-05-18T10:01:00.003-05:00

I wanted to share a couple of pictures that I used for my final project for my photo class. These were from a series of 5 pictures that represented the farm that I grew up at and how it's aged. I chose to just show these pictures because they were chosen by my instructor to be shown at a summer exhibit at the college! I have 17 other images from this class, which is way to many to post in one day, but maybe some other time. There was a lot of great work from our class and also a lot of pride went into making the prints. It was a lot of fun to see the improvement we made in our printing skills as well as the photography itself. I made a few friends and learned a lot from our master instructor. I will definitely miss this class, but I'm glad I have these few "souveniers" to remember.

2009-04-03T12:45:00.002-05:00

So it must be the season to dust off my camera. It's been sitting on the shelf collecting dust for the last, oh, 5 months or so! That's terrible. My girls are growing and I'm not even getting it recorded. But things will change soon. I'm going to get it out and start taking more pictures because I just haven't wanted to during this winter. Sure I've had to take pictures for class, but that is for assignments, not completely for fun, and not for myself.
I just love this one with Lydia and her big cousin reading a book together. It was a very sweet moment.

It's been kind of crazy around here, I had 2 wedding showers and a bachelorette party last weekend! I know, all in one weekend! But now it is all over until the weddings, which will be a complete blast, I cannot wait.
Nate has been busy with yard work, me with school work, and we're trying to finish up our bedroom. We tore it all apart and we're going to paint this weekend, then soon carpeting and then move back in. (Cassidy has moved in with Lydia and we moved in her room, so I'm anxious to get back to normal.) I'll show before/after pictures when we're all done. It will be great.
In the last month or so I've decided to quit being a Stampin up Demonstrator. It's been a great 5 1/2 years and I will certainly miss it (I think mom will miss it more than me!). I've decided I need to concentrate on classes/artwork and my family, because time has been tight around here, and this is quite an adjustment. I'm hoping to get some time after this semester is finished (5 1/2 weeks!!) to work on our scrapbooks. I'm falling so far behind :(
Maybe I'll post more pictures in a couple weeks, otherwise, I'll be back next month...

Hapy Valentimes!

2009-02-16T11:10:00.002-06:00

like the title? Cassie called valentine's: ValentiMes. funny.
Here's Lydia with her valentine sunglasses. She is quite a ham.
We had a good valentine's. Nate took us (me & the girls) shopping all afternoon & out to dinner and some more shopping in the evening! I cannot remember the last time I have been to rochester for no reason. It was quite relaxing and we ended up spending a wad because everything was on sale. almost bought a new computer too, but decided to wait for something bigger & better.

School is going good, in case you are wondering. Fall Semester I received a 4.0-the first in my life I can proudly say. And Yes, I am bragging. My brother in law calls me a nerd now. HA! I'm currently taking a math course (the first of 4) and I'm getting a 105%, and yes, bragging again :) But it really has everything to do with the teacher. She is wonderful and I hope I can get her again next semester.

Nate's job is great. They have been busy. I was concerned for awhile, but he reassured me that the only way he would probably lose his job is if the place burned down. Even then, the president would probably have something for him to do. So he's doing fine.

The girls are doing good too. We have been doing ECFE activities and they seem to enjoy daycare.

I think we're all anxious for spring. I received my Gurney's catalog the other day and have flipped through it about 4 times, dreaming of summer. It will be a great summer this year!

roller skating

2009-02-09T08:41:00.002-06:00

Last weekend we took the girls roller skating! We weren't really sure how Cassidy would handle herself, and if she fell, we didn't know if she would give up (like she usually does), but she didn't care! She fell, she got up, and skated some more.

This was a proud mommy moment. Towards the end she was able to skate on her own! She was proud as well.

And of course, Lydia had to get in on the action. I had a hard time containing her while everyone was skating. She kept darting off, so we walked around and around several times. Then daddy took her around with him a few times. We thought that if they had skates small enough for Lydia, she would have skated too!

it's been...

2009-01-28T10:51:00.003-06:00

It's been different around here. Quite different. I wouldn't say a complete 180, but maybe 90. You can probably tell I've been too busy to update this blog since the last post was on the 1st of the month. I have added an extra class to my schedule, so I'm now working on 9 credits this semester which includes Algebra (yuk), an online class (which takes a LOT of self motivation), and a photography class (we only work in black & white FILM) (and I think I'm going to LOVE it). So needless to say, there has been a ton of homework. (by ton, I mean about 95% more homework than last semester). So that is a huge adjustment for me. There is also the adjustment for my family. The girls are in daycare for nearly 2 whole days now since I'm taking classes during the day instead of evening classes. (and Cassie has finally decided to eat and drink at daycare now, thank goodness.) But it's been great to be home in the evenings too.
In addition to all of the school stuff, the girls were sick for awhile earlier this month, and me-I've been sick the whole month and have had a cough since early December. I'm so dang sick of being sick. (that has become my new motto)
So if you've emailed me a while ago and haven't gotten a reply yet, now you know why. And I'm so sorry that I've been terrible at emailing.
And since I hate posting without a picture, here is a sunset that has been sitting on my camera from 2 weeks ago.

Lydia's First Birthday

2009-01-01T10:07:00.004-06:00

Last weekend my baby turned 1 year old. We had a party for her with all of the family and cousins here to celebrate. Her birthday was on Saturday but the party was Sunday, but I felt she needed to dig into a cake on her actual birthday, so we bought a twinkie at the gas station: It was devoured in seconds.

Classic Lydia.
She loved ripping off the paper. It helped that she had some practice from all of the Christmas presents days before.
She wasn't sure if she should touch her special cake.
But it didn't take her long to figure it out and make a mess!

Christmas 08

2008-12-29T10:35:00.005-06:00

Our Christmas was relaxing, exciting, peaceful, loud, enjoyable, and memorable. It's hard to imagine it described that way, but in fact it was all of those things. On Christmas Eve we went to my parents house to celebrate. We always, always have lots of food, treats, and this year: drinks :) (I mention this only because last Christmas I was nearly a week overdue with Lydia).

Here, Cassidy is trying to decide which cookie she should try first. Later on she was found under the table eating more treats with a cousin.

Grandpa always reads the Christmas story to the kids, hoping they listen while they have ants in their pants and watching those wrapped presents calling their name. They usually do listen well. One cousin is missing from this picture. I wonder where he went??

One of Lydia's gifts was twin babies! She was so happy. She was carrying one or the other all night long.

Nate said I look drunk in this picture. I really did not get drunk at my parent's Christmas. Just enjoyed the rum very much. There is a difference.
Christmas morning was very exciting too. Santa came and left stuff in our stockings and gifts for the girls.

Cassie would have been happy if this was all she received for Christmas. A mickey mouse clubhouse. from Santa. And that is exactly what she told him she wanted.

Christmas Day afternoon we traveled to Nate's Grandparent's to visit. And again, more great food!
My little punk's first Christmas.
Our family:

Lydia with all of her Christmas babies. There are 5 total, all different except the twins:It was a great Christmas and I'm thankful to have a healthy, happy family. That is all that matters. Merry Christmas.

Merry Christmas

2008-12-25T11:50:00.001-06:00

One of my new favorite Christmas songs.

1st teeth

2008-12-22T09:47:00.003-06:00

Besides being ill and in the ER, Lydia managed to cut her first tooth last Thursday. Two days later the second one broke through. We might as well have bought stock in Motrin & Tylenol last week as I'm sure they went up after she got sick. She is much better now and ready for Christmas and her first birthday and party next weekend.
We've been snuggling under blankets over the weekend with all of these storms! Finally a break today, but sounds like more snow tomorrow. Cassie & I were able to make a bunch of Christmas treats and need to do a few more today. It was nice to have a weekend snowed in, although we did have to reschedule a Christmas visit with Nate's grandparents. (we missed you guys!!)

I hope you have a very merry Christmas and I'll be back next week to post our Christmas and birthday parties!

What have we been up to?

2008-12-16T08:52:00.004-06:00

Visiting Santa: 1st attempt

notice Cassidy here...look where the arrow is pointing: she's burying her head into my arm as santa is trying to give her a sucker. There was no way she would lay her eyes on him...even though he was being so nice to her. We tried peer pressure, but that had no effect.

Here's Lydia on Santa's lap...She sat there for approximately 1 minute just looking up at him. I think she has a crush on any man with facial hair. This is not the only time we've experienced this.

2nd attempt:

Oh how different this visit was! Lydia was screaming (Although I wish there was a better picture with all of them in it so you could see her face) and Cassidy did tell santa what she wanted even though we dragged her up there and made her tell him.

Oh well....Maybe next year!

We've been enjoying our basement lots lately: it helps now that we have a new sofa down there so mom & dad have somewhere to sit :)

Funny thing with Lydia...She LOVES this princess tent. She crawls in & out & in & out. the only other things she plays with in the basement are babies. It's so cute to watch her carry them all over!

This week is my final week of the semester. I'm ready for a little break for Christmas. My house also needs to be cleaned so bad. We finally put away all of the Christmas tubs that have been sitting around. You don't even want to see my dining room right now...Final projects all over, laundry, crayon drawings, bathroom light fixtures, unwrapped Christmas presents, etc...It's a mess. I don't even know why I'm using my time to post this.

Tomorrow we're going to try to finish up our Christmas shopping. Nate has the day off and sounds like the weather will be good. We'll make a stop at the hospital too as my aunt had quadruple bypass surgery yesterday. I hope she's feeling okay.

And with hope this weekend I'll have some time to do some baking! I haven't even started and usually I have many things in the freezer by now.

Lydia-11 Months

2008-12-01T09:02:00.002-06:00

Wow. She's almost a year old. I'm really going to cherish this last month before her birthday. She's such a fun baby to be around.
11 months:
She can walk everywhere now! And she is so proud of herself when she does. When she falls, she gets right back up and keeps truckin'!
She is still toothless. I wonder if we'll see any in the next month at all. They do look like they'll come any day though.

She has been Traumatized

2008-11-19T15:16:00.001-06:00

I decided the other day that Cassie needed to get her hair cut. She has never had it cut before, unless you count the time I trimmed a tiny bit off the ends so it was the same length....and that was probably 2 years ago.

Here she is at the salon. Very, very scared. See, she has even found a corner to hide in. And look at the snarly mess of hair she has...it's gotta go!!

We finally convinced her to sit on my lap to have this done. After some begging not to get her hair cut. And crying of course.

Soooo glad it's over!

It ended in a smile, but she's not looking forward to go back anytime soon!

Our Mission in Parkersburg

2008-11-11T09:11:00.004-06:00

unbelievable photos can be found here.
Our mission in Parkersburg was to help families that were affected from the Memorial Day F5 tornado that hit and wiped out nearly half of the town and killed 8 people. We were amazed at the progress that has been made in only 5 months. Several homes have been built (although many are still being finished) and the town is starting to recover.

Our trip started very early friday morning with a 2 hour drive to Parkersburg IA. We had a great group: 19 people from our church! We were split up into 3 groups, each working on different homes. My group (see 2nd picture above) consisted of two great ladies and myself. We spent approximately 6 hours painting the entire basement of a parsonage for the local Baptist church. We finished it and we were quite proud ;) And were nicknamed the Painter Sisters!
My husband and a few others worked on siding a home for a young family. They worked through Saturday and used all of the siding they had, so they were also very productive.
The 3rd group worked in the local cop's home. A lot of different things needed to be done: underlayment and trim needed to be installed, and a lot of cleaning was needed. They finished the underlayment and most of the trim. The ladies worked on cleaning the trim and paint touch up which surprisingly took up most of the days. The owner wasn't sure if they would be able to move in by Thanksgiving, but when Saturday was over, he was confident that it might happen. All they need now is to install their floor & kitchen cabinets. What made the trip worth it: that we were able to make a difference in these families.
Coming home was really nice, but I couldn't help to think about those in Parkersburg that don't have a place to come "home" to. We had more fun than a planned family vacation and are ready to go back in the spring. Several in our group had mentioned it to me on Sunday at church, so I think we'll just plan on it.

A few things I want to record from the trip:

It was an F5 tornado with winds gusting 250 mph. Some trees were still standing, but limbs were stripped and bent eastward.
There were no street signs, they were all blown down.
The football scoreboard was blown 100 miles away in Decorah. Papers and other things are being found in Wisconsin.

The beginning of an heirloom

2008-11-06T15:53:00.003-06:00

Have you ever wondered about the history of an heirloom? Where it came from, who made it, who used it? Do you even have an heirloom?
I'm pleased to say I have many. One of my most prized is my baptism gown that was worn by my mother, myself, and both of my girls. (they'll have to fight over it when they have kids of their own).
This little sweater dress was made for Lydia by my mom. I see these sweater dresses all over in stores so I guess they're a hot fashion thing this fall. And I guess mom has an eye for fashion ;) But anyway, it's a sweet little dress that will fit her for quite a while.
ps...the hat is from etsy, not quite an heirloom, but is handmade.

favorite

2008-11-03T10:07:00.002-06:00

Out of nearly 6000 pictures I've taken this year alone, I think this just might be my favorite of all time. And it doesn't even contain my own children.
p.s. Jo-let me know what size (& color or b/w) you want this in. I'll get it printed for you!

Halloween 2008

2008-11-01T16:14:00.004-05:00

What a fun time we had last night! The best part was the weather...we were trick or treating in short sleeves which is so unusual for MN. Cassie was pretty shy when we went door to door, but I guess mom & dad get the candy since we did all the work LOL ;)
Our church hosted a party with dinner, games and lots of extra prizes too. Cassie didn't hold back there, she was such a little party girl! Lydia also had a good time watching everyone play games.

ps: I think cassie looks so grown up in these pictures, don't you?

random or venting

2008-10-29T07:01:00.006-05:00

**So my midterm & poster design project are behind me now. That is a weight lifted off for sure. I think I did well on both, but will have to wait for grades to know for certain.

**After I came home last night from class, I was trying to relax by watching tv, but while channel surfing, all I could find were political ads. Makes me want to SCREAM...can I get an amen??!! Tuesday can't come soon enough!

**Oh, yes, and back to the subject of school...I should just go and buy an old nasty rusty car because nobody seems to care about anybody else's car in the parking lot. I've got more dings & scratches and last night my side mirror was tipped back. The nerve.

10 Months

2008-10-28T10:19:00.003-05:00

Sorry I have no "happy" 10 month pictures to share. She hasn't been the happiest baby lately anyway. It's teething time, so we're always cranky. Just look at the 2nd picture with the big frown. She couldn't even crack a smile for me? whateva.

In other news, well, there is no big news stories, but we've been so busy. Maybe I should re-phrase: I'VE been so busy. Here's just a little taste: butchering turkeys, midterm tests, poster design assignment due, daycare on vacation, laundry, stamp class, assessment test, studying, laundry, studying, and more studying. I've probably missed something, but I can't think straight right now. I have not been this busy since planning for my wedding. My mind is going to crash anytime, I can just feel it.
Next week I only have one day of classes then Nate & I are traveling to Parkersburg Iowa for 2 days to help tornado victims rebuild. I am actually looking forward to help but also to get away and get my mind off of things at home. It will be a good experience. I'll keep you posted about how our trip went.

Beautiful Fall

2008-10-16T08:56:00.001-05:00

I love this season...Beautiful skies and colorful leaves. (one of our trees in our front yard)

Country roads painted with colorful leaves. (near forestville on our hayride)
And our home under a canopy of trees. (whose colors look different every day.)

the bunny rescuers

2008-10-13T09:45:00.002-05:00

this is old news at our house, but just wanted to post it anyway. A few weeks ago Nate found (or I should say Daisy, our hunting dog) these baby bunnies in our pasture. The mother was gone and left these infants in a hole. (I say infants because they couldn't have been more than a couple days old-they're eyes were still closed) She was probably chased off by Daisy. Nate ended up putting them in a bucket with grass and bringing them to the house. I thought they were mice at first, because their ears were so short, but looking closer they're so much cuter than a mouse.
Cassie instantly fell in love.
and then there was the onlooker we had to keep away.
I have no idea if they survived. We took them back to the hole hoping the mother would come back to take care of them.

Do you see the mouse?

2008-10-03T08:29:00.003-05:00

A few months ago Cassidy, Lydia & I were driving in the city and every now and then she said "LOOK MOMMY!! A Mouse!!" Or "There's another mouse!" I couldn't figure it out. What the heck was she talking about!?? So I asked where she saw the mouse. She said on the sign. Wha....? The sign has a mouse on it?? We kept driving. I looked a little closer at the sign, and sure enough there's a mouse:

Get it?? She's referring to the mouse "pointer" on the computer!! LOL

update on Lydia's growth

2008-09-30T07:01:00.001-05:00

Weight: 16 lbs 7 oz: 11.56%
Length: 28": 65%

(previously was 10% in weight and 40% in length)

9 Months

2008-09-28T16:41:00.003-05:00

This little punk just turned 9 months over the weekend. Getting a good shot of her was pretty interesting as she wouldn't look at the camera and totally ignored me most of the time, and obviously no smiles either. But I do love the colors in the 2nd picture. It's my favorite time of year.
Things are changing pretty fast around here. The other day she took her first step, although it wasn't deliberate or intentional, it just happened. Also over the weekend she just started saying da da. I do have to admit (even though I'm a bit jealous) it's cute, but daddy is very proud and thinks he taught her how to say it.
We have the 9 month checkup tomorrow, and I'm very anxious to see if she's gained from her 10th percentile. (crossing fingers) Someone at church told me today that they thought she was only 5 months old! She's small, but not THAT small!!

2008-09-20T20:48:00.002-05:00

Cassidy: LYDIAAAA!!! I'm NOT a napkin!!! Stop it!
Lydia:
Cassidy: I'm NOT A NAPKIN!!
Lydia: Screams
Cassidy: Stop it! I'm not a NAAAPKIIINNN!!
Mommy: C---What are you talking about??!!
Cassidy: She's spitting at me but I'm not a napkin!

nose scrunchies

2008-09-10T16:22:00.002-05:00

Here's Lydia's new face that she makes every so often. She purses her lips and scrunches up her nose like that. I think she does it to get a laugh out of us. Sometimes she'll make this face, then breath in and out of her nose really loud. I'll have to get it on video sometime.

She's 4 years old

2008-09-09T07:43:00.005-05:00

I can't believe I have a 4 year old now. She's growing and learning so much these days. We had a couple days of celebrating. Sunday was the party with all of the fam, and yesterday was the actual day, so we let her do whatever she wanted. She just wanted to play with her new toys and hang out most of the day. She also got to pick anything she wanted from the Ice cream man (schwan's).
We went out yesterday to take a few pictures. I do this every year on birthdays to see how much she's grown. I think mature is definitely describes her this year.

I tried to get one with both of the girls together but it didn't really work how I planned. But this picture totally cracked me up...Cassidy's trying to shush Lydia, and Lydia is just squirming and squealing:

I wanted to include this one from the party and cake that Grandma made!

This should be a really fun year for Cassidy. This is her last year before preschool. She has started Sunday School and seemed to enjoy it. And leaving her at daycare is getting easier. We're just slowly getting her used to the fact that mommy & daddy aren't always around, and she's probably okay with that after she gets over being anxious about us leaving her.
here are a few little fun things about her this year:

She's a little "mother hen" to Lydia and I love that. So does Lydia.
She could watch TV from the time she gets up until bedtime at night...in her pj's
She enjoys playing disney games on the computer. And now Webkinz games too. (that was one of her gifts)
She has to have a light & music on in her room at night. She usually sneaks out of her room a few times before she falls asleep.
Loves shopping, especially at Target

Our DIY Weekend

2008-09-02T08:58:00.003-05:00

Our Labor Day weekend was filled with "labor". Actually it was really really easy to install this floor. It is made out of vinyl but looks like wood, so I can have the beauty without worrying about the leaky floor. I also picked out this area rug that is made out of a material that resists mold/mildew too.
There's a lot of finishing stuff to do: painting trim, installing trim, painting door jambs & doors, installing railing and finish lighting. I am not promising it will be done for C's b-day on Sunday. That would stress me out too much.
Last week our friend came over to texture the walls & paint. What a luxury that was to have him paint! He did it in a fraction of the time with his sprayer.
Then yesterday as we were installing the floor I mentioned to Nate that I think I am trying to re-create my bathroom in our old house:
That was not planned. I guess I just like the look. I also really really miss my bathroom in our old house.

8 Months

2008-08-27T15:09:00.003-05:00

She's already 8 months old, I can hardly believe it. I made this tutu, but I don't think she likes to wear it. She was quite squirmy when I took pictures, but that is also her age. She cannot sit still for nothing!
I'm always really amazed at how fast she grows and learns. Here's a few things:

She doesn't have teeth yet, but she can eat like crazy!
She's been pulling herself up onto things and taking a few steps while holding onto something.
She is stubborn at times, but who in this house isn't?
If something is in the way, just crawl over it. (as I type, she's crawling over my camera bag.)
Her favorite thing to do while I'm on the computer is play with the rats nest of wires behind the computer.
She is crazy about her big sister! She loves her to death.

I hope she gets her teeth pretty soon. I'm getting sick of the runny nose and drooling!

this makes me smile

2008-08-18T08:54:00.002-05:00

Look at those eyes! And a little dimple on her right cheek. Remember a few months ago she stuck her tongue out every time she smiled? Well, I think that phase is over and now she's got a pretty smile and her eyes just light up!

We had a nice weekend. Friday my parents babysat and we had a little date night aka shopping without kids (yes, we call that a date. I'm thrilled to go shopping without the monsters!)
On Saturday we went to a parade in my hometown and enjoyed all the festivities. That night we hung out at home and built a fire. It was absolutely perfect weather and very relaxing.
Sunday we worked around the house (nate in the basement most of the day) and I mowed, watered flowers, filled swimming pool because it looks like a warm week this week, then dealt with a fussy baby.
I've got 1 more week before school starts for me. I'm a little nervous & excited at the same time. We're going to go visit the daycare this morning. Cassidy has been pretty excited to go.
Well, I better go for now...gotta get the kiddo's dressed for the day!

Lydia's First Ponytail

2008-08-07T12:51:00.002-05:00

I know it's crazy, but I had to do it :)
I couldn't get Cassie's hair in a pony until she was 18 months and Lydia's only 7 1/2 months, so this is pretty exciting!
(she's looking so grown up, don't you think??)

National Night Out

2008-08-07T10:13:00.003-05:00

Tuesday evening our church hosted National Night Out. This was our first time attending and it was so fun! They had free food, music, games, jumping house, face painting, balloon artist, fire truck, ambulance and police cars, and the Pine wood Derby!

Cassidy & Lauren with their cars

Here's Cassie getting her car on the track

Down the racetrack: She won 2nd place

a closeup of the girls' cars. They were so proud of them!

making progress

2008-08-07T09:16:00.002-05:00

slowly but surely, this basement project has been coming along (thanks to nate). I am no big help right now. I'll do the painting and laying the floor, but as far as building walls and wiring: I don't have a clue and I'm thankful my husband can do it all.
So, what have we done so far?? Well as you can see from the first post about the basement we now have:

one open room instead of 2 small rooms
fixed the cracks, rotten post, and sealed the floor
replaced moldy sheetrock
a closet
some new lights (it looks like they're not quite finished)

And soon we'll be working on the walls: mudding, texturing, painting. Then it's onto the floor. I think we'll be installing some type of vinyl and then will have area rugs on top of that.
I'm hoping to get most of this finished up before I start school on the 26th. How much do you want to bet that it won't be??

7 Months

2008-07-29T12:37:00.002-05:00

Here's Lydia's 7 month pictures 1 day late...I hate it when I don't get those pictures taken on the exact day of the month of her birthday. Must be the OCD again.
Anyway, Lydia has been kind of sick this last week, not sure what happened. Had a fever for a day and then hasn't really been the same since. Slowly getting better though.
I had to lower the crib mattress the other day because I caught her standing up in her crib and I was afraid she would lean over and fall out. So now it's as low as it goes.
I had her on the changing table this morning and looked over and it just hit me how big she is. It really makes a mommy sad to see her baby growing up. But I am glad those early months are behind us now, and now the excitement begins!!

splish*splash

2008-07-26T08:59:00.002-05:00

Cassidy likes the pool. not loves, but likes. She still will NOT get her hair wet and hates water on her face. We need to get her into some swimming lessons. maybe this winter when there's nothing else to do. That's one nice thing about having an indoor pool in town.

And Lydia couldn't be more serious! She wouldn't crack a smile while she was in there. whatever.

oh no!!

2008-07-25T13:52:00.003-05:00

what just happened here?
She is starting to pull herself up onto things now! This is the first time I've seen her do it, Nate said he's seen her do it before. And I really hope that gate doesn't give because that is the stairs to the basement right there.

oh, and one more thing: she's started to say mama!! I guess all of those times I've drilled it in her head has payed off! I know for sure cassidy said dada first...na na na na na, Nate!!

Cousin Camp 2008

2008-07-24T08:35:00.003-05:00

Grandpa & Grandma had all of the grandkids over yesterday for the first Cousin Camp! It was so fun for them! Grandma kept all of the kids busy with tons & tons of activities up until the end. Just when I thought we were ready to go home, she brought out another "bag of tricks" :)

Here's Grandpa & Grandma with all of the kids after making their goofy sunglasses...some of them didn't think that was a good idea
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catching bugs lasted for hours

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They even made bugs!

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This was the pine cone bird feeder...they spread peanut butter all over pine cones and rolled them in bird seed, then hung with string. Such a neat & easy project!

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There was (many) dramatic moments too

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The boat race was a huge hit!

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The water felt so good!

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Everyone got along so well! :)

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I caught this on my way home last night! Gorgeous!

little miss L

2008-07-18T08:08:00.005-05:00

She's been a little bit of a challenge lately...mainly yesterday. I could tell that she had a bad teething day so that was probably the problem. And I was drained by the time Nate came home. After supper, he took Cassie to a movie and Lydia and I hung out. **don't read the next part if you don't want to get grossed out**** When she had her last bottle before bed (I should mention here that she has a very strong gag reflex and usually throws up if she doesn't like what's in her mouth) anyway, towards the end of the bottle, I burped her and gave her the bottle again to finish. She ended up gagging on the nipple and she threw up the entire bottle on me! That was pretty gross, so I threw her in the tub then put her to bed.
I don't know if today will be any better, she's starting to pull herself up onto things and then falls down and usually hits her head. I might have to put the gate up now! Wish me luck!

artwork

2008-07-18T08:06:00.001-05:00

Here's the latest of Cassidy's artwork...She's getting so good!
(If you can't tell, it's a strawberry!!)

These cookies are the DEVIL!

2008-07-08T11:59:00.003-05:00

seriously, I have not made a better cookie in my life. go now. make these.

White chocolate, chocolate (devil) cookies

1 cup unsalted butter (I use 1/2 applesauce, 1/2 butter)
1 cup white sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 1/4 cups unsweetened cocoa powder
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 cups white chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease cookie sheets.
In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar and white sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well with each addition. Combine the cocoa, flour, and baking soda, gradually stir into the creamed mixture. Finally, fold in white chocolate chips. Drop by rounded spoonfuls onto the prepared cookie sheets.
Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, until puffy but still soft. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

weekend recap

2008-07-07T10:01:00.003-05:00

What a busy weekend! It seems we were on the run every day. That is especially hard on Lydia. I have her on such a strict eating schedule, so it's hard to fit it in when we're out somewhere. It's also very hard when we stayed out past our normal bedtime.

Thursday night we went to the huge freedom fest in Spring Valley and I caught some pretty cool fireworks pictures. I was bummed at first because I brought my tripod and my lenses but forgot my little clip that attaches my camera to the tripod. But I tried it anyway and rested the camera on the tripod. Most of the pictures turned out good!

Friday (4th) we went to 2 parades. Next year we're going to skip Cherry Grove. It's not as great as it used to be. Stewartville was really good as usual.

Saturday Nate & I went on a (sort of) date. Thanks to Mom & Dad for watching the monsters we got to have some quiet time alone to eat & get some groceries. And we also went to Best Buy. Nate said that might be dangerous, I said we don't have to buy anything. It was still fun to look. But he might have been right...it was a little dangerous...especially without kids because we could actually look around.

Yesterday was church, and then worked on the basement a little. The air started to get super muggy so we turned on the a/c and just hung out the rest of the day.

Hope you had a great weekend!

cute little building

2008-07-03T09:16:00.003-05:00

Have a great 4th of July!

so cool

2008-07-03T09:09:00.000-05:00

Welcome to our mess

2008-07-02T14:42:00.003-05:00

A few weeks ago you might remember about our little water problem in our basement. Well, we've finally dried out down there and went to work. Here's our basement as of today:

Below: This used to be 2 rooms (as you can see where the wall used to be) (my craft room used to be that room in the back...glad I moved that upstairs last summer!) Now it will be one large space instead of 2 smaller rooms. To the right-where the desk is in back-will be a closet to store all of our junk that we don't want any of you to see when you come over :)

So we ended up with a larger mold problem than we thought. We knew there was some down there, but not to the extent of which we found. So we tore out all of the sheet rock that had the mold and it's sitting in the middle of the floor. Most of it was soaking wet!
There's a lot of cleaning to do: much of the mold is still down there...on the 2x4's and posts.
The next step for us is to seal and fix all of the cracks in the floor and then seal the entire floor with a rubber membrane. Then hopefully we'll be ready to put things back together! It might take a while though. We're planning on doing most of the work ourselves. I'll keep you updated!

Lydia-6 Months

2008-06-30T16:36:00.005-05:00

6 months...it's hard to believe, isn't it? Here's the little beauty:

She's been biting on her bottom lip a lot lately.

Here she is trying to sit up for about 20 seconds. Then she slowly topples over.

My poor baby had her doctor appointment today and had 3 shots. She's not feeling the best, but it could be worse. She's handling it better than I would.
We're a little concerned about her weight. She isn't gaining much and we're not really sure why. She went from 20% three months ago to now 10%. We've been trying to get her to drink formula, but she wouldn't have anything to do with it. Now today I tried a new bottle/nipple and she just finished 6 ounces. That made me so happy-you have no idea.

Here's her stats:
weight: 13lb 11 oz: 10%
length: 25.5 inches: 40%

So other than the little (big) weight issue, dr said she is very healthy and is doing great. YAY!

getaway

2008-06-26T12:50:00.002-05:00

Yes, that's right: a getaway. NOT a vacation. Maybe for Nate but not for me. It was nice to get away for a while, but it's hard to "vacation" when there's a 6 month old along. It was especially hard on her too. We keep a tight schedule when we're at home, but when we are away it gets really hard.
Lydia is happy to be home. She's been sick the last 2 days so I'm glad to be home too.

Anyway, back to our "vacation". We went to the twin cities for a few days. We planned to do some things for the girls because there is a lot to do up there. We stayed at the Hilton and this was our view:
And by the way...if all we did was watch the airplanes out of our hotel window, that would have been just fine with Cassidy. She's totally amazed by them. We even shared an elevator with a pilot. Pretty cool.

SUNDAY:
We went to the MN Zoo. It's amazing how much time is spent just walking around that place. it's really spread out, so we got a lot of exercise that day. Cassidy's favorite thing at the Zoo: watching the airplanes fly over our heads. Go figure!
Monday:
Filled up the Explorer at $3.95. The highest we've ever paid. yuk.
Went to the Children's Museum in St Paul. Pretty neat for kids. It was bigger than I thought it was, but we got out of there in a reasonable amount of time. I think cassidy enjoyed playing in the water with the shells & boats the best.
Later we went to Ikea. Record breaking: only 1 1/2 hours and less than $20 spent. Nate was proud of me, or I kept telling him that he should be proud of me. Although we're planning on going back to furnish our basement after we fix the floor: so maybe not.
For dinner we met my friend and her fiance at the Cheesecake Factory. It was great to meet him and if you read this Abbi: we approve! He seems like a great guy.
That night Cassidy and Nate went swimming at the hotel pool. they had a good time. And of course Cassidy was timid of the water at first, but by the time we had to go she didn't want to!
Tuesday:
Our last day: We spent the day at MOA. Lots of exercise once again. Visited the underwater world. It's expensive. That's all.

It's always nice to get home.

layers of color

2008-06-20T21:34:00.004-05:00

It may seem like I had nothing to do today since this is the 3rd post in one day. I have been busy, believe me. I just get distracted so easily by this computer.
couldn't help but take a picture of the sunset tonight. This is just on the edge of our property. I think this is a bean field right behind our place. not sure, it was getting dark and I didn't really pay much attention to that. I thought the sun rays were so pretty in this shot.

wouldn't it be great....

2008-06-20T11:50:00.001-05:00

to have this kind of flexibility??

shakabootie

2008-06-20T09:41:00.002-05:00

Have a great weekend!!

I feel so good about this

2008-06-19T09:34:00.003-05:00

What is this stuff? Can you take a guess? Well, I'll tell you if you can't figure it out. It's homemade baby food! Specifically: green beans. I also made carrots, butternut squash and sweet potatoes. And I feel really good about doing it.
Here's what I did:

cleaned (of course) then steamed or baked the veggies
put them in my magic bullet with a little water
puree
scoop into ice cube trays and freeze.
EASY!

Now we'll have perfect little baby portions of homemade feel-good baby food! Plus we're saving money at the same time, but that's not why I feel so good about it. It's because I'm doing the best for my baby. Sure I could be lazy and go buy the pre-packaged baby food, but who knows what they really add to it. I know what's in my baby food. And I have the time to do it. And that's why it makes me feel so good.

there's that tongue again!

2008-06-16T09:38:00.003-05:00

it's almost a constant thing now. maybe it helps her think. i don't know.

cassidy was playing around with hats and lydia was being pretty cooperative. love this little cowgirl hat on her. it's a little big but still cute. cassidy wore it when she was about 2.

we had a big weekend. now its time to relax. notice how i don't even care about using uppercase letters for this post?

I love these 2

2008-06-11T20:48:00.002-05:00

These pictures just crack me up! Look at Lydia tongue! She's been sticking that thing out all the time lately.

We're trying to dry out here. The basement is still wet (water is still coming up through the cracks) and we're going to get a lot of more rain in the next day. Enough already!! I think we're even under a tornado watch right now. Hopefully we'll get the lesser amount than they're predicting!

Haiku

2008-06-08T21:00:00.004-05:00

Someone posted a Haiku the other day, I thought I'd give it a try:

A flood has come our way
Sump pumps running every other minute
Unexpected basement remodel is underway.

ugh...not that great, but you get the point.

~~Family: If you're trying to reach us call our cell phones. Land line phone is out~~UPDATED: OUR PHONE IS WORKING NOW.
TV is out. Look on the bright side: At least there is internet.

Finally a good one!

2008-06-05T10:45:00.004-05:00

It's been a while since I've taken a picture of the girls together. And even if I had, there just wasn't any that were decent. Usually Cassidy's not smiling, or looking away, and Lydia is either crying or looking away. I tell you...it's hard work!
But look at them here! You'd never guess that they're monsters, could you?! LOL

The BIG catch!

2008-06-04T10:47:00.002-05:00

This was the first fish she caught! We think it was a walleye! If not, please correct me. I am not an expert

This was our first attempt at fishing on Memorial Day weekend. We went to our lake in town and caught some walleye (we think) . They were all so small that they weren't worth keeping, so we went to the DNR ponds about 15 miles away and caught some bass, walleye, and sunnies. We kept a few and grilled them.
It was pretty exciting at first for Cassidy. She was getting really good and almost touched a worm! That's better than me. I won't go near those squirmy, slimy yukkie things. Poor Nate, as he doesn't get much time to fish between Cassidy & I. His time is spent baiting hooks and taking fish off.
As time passed while we were fishing, she got scared of the fish on her hook and didn't want to reel them in. I think it was because Nate & I got excited (that she caught a fish) and it scared her. She's very sensitive to noises and excitement.
We're hoping to go out again soon and catch some bigger fish!

blonde cuteness

2008-05-30T20:09:00.005-05:00

look at these pigtails-they're so long! 2 years ago I would never have believed her hair could get this long! She's got curlers in her hair tonight because she's been begging me to give her curls. We'll see how it turns out. And what's really neat is when it's humid out like today, her hair curls naturally, looking like I curled it on purpose. I have that too, only my hair gets frizzy and wavy. no cute curls for me :(

Lydia-5 months

2008-05-28T07:36:00.005-05:00

at 5 months she:

is eating cereal, not very well, but getting better every day
rolls over to her tummy but gets frustrated because she doesn't like holding her head up
almost sits by herself
doesn't like to snuggle...this makes mommy kind of sad :(
is such a happy, smiley baby!

It's gone! It's really gone!

2008-05-20T07:55:00.003-05:00

My friends & family will know exactly what I'm talking about when you see this picture. But for those that don't, read on...
Up until yesterday we had an early 90's shade of pink carpet on these steps and it ran throughout our upstairs hallway and 2 rooms. If you really need to know what it looked like before, here's a glimpse: pink carpet
Now it's a lovely shade of NEUTRAL! You have no idea how happy this makes me! I think it's totally blog worthy :)

Doing some "tricks"

2008-05-16T13:02:00.002-05:00

We just got this set up 2 nights ago and we've been having so much fun!
When it's Cassidy's turn to bounce, she tells me to watch her new trick. Then all she does is bounce LOL! Gotta love a 3 year old mind. She also reminds us that only 1 person can jump at a time. We broke that rule once, and now regret it! I won't go there.
See the dogs underneath? They don't go under unless someone is actually on the trampoline. then when someone (I) start to jump, the big one gets hit. such a dummy.

I'm into sunsets

2008-05-12T11:38:00.004-05:00

This one was taken while driving down the road:

I spotted this lonely windmill in a field and we drove over so I could take a picture of it. You can see the wind turbines in the distance, which are about 5 miles away.

these were taken about 5 minutes apart...isn't that amazing how the sky changes within only a few minutes??!

Dandelions are just as sweet as roses

2008-05-11T21:36:00.003-05:00

Cassidy has been so excited because we're "growing" dandelions! I think it's sweet. She thinks they're just as pretty as roses.
She picked these violets and dandelions for me this morning and stuck them in a vase and brought them to me in bed along with breakfast and a card she made for me.

do YOU see something WRONG with these pictures?

2008-05-10T10:47:00.001-05:00

Always fun @ Grandma & Grandpa's

2008-05-07T07:07:00.002-05:00

We went over to the Farm yesterday because 1. It's been awhile 2. it was nice out 3. just because. Grandma taught Cassidy to pump on the swing! She was so proud! Just look at that smile...priceless!

I love how she pushes her sunglasses on top of her head like I do....what a copycat!

It's Spring!!

2008-05-06T07:14:00.003-05:00

It's finally here...I think.

This robin's nest is just outside our back door on top of a fence! We saw the mother in there this morning and I noticed the father chasing away a bird that got too close. I don't think I've seen a robin's nest since I was a kid. I forgot how beautiful the eggs are.

Last night's sunset

and here's Cassidy. She wanted me to take a picture of her, so I said "do something" and this was her pose LOL!! Check out her outfit...she picked it out all by herself. And I was told it matches because the shirt and pants have stripes.

Another favorite

2008-04-29T09:04:00.003-05:00

I think she looks like her daddy in this picture

4 Months

2008-04-28T09:29:00.002-05:00

Lydia-4 Months

I cannot get over how beautiful this baby is! Just look at those big eyes...wow!

She rolled over (from back to tummy) last week and this morning while we were taking pictures, she rolled from her tummy to back! (then bonked her head on the hardwood floor...ouch!

Nate: You should be very thankful that we don't have to go to the studio to get pictures taken anymore!! I think the last time I went was almost 2 years ago and I spent $200!

our Peeps have arrived!

2008-04-24T15:30:00.002-05:00

Miss Cassidy loves the chicks. She's been asking about them for days now and today they finally came.
She gets all teary eyed when we leave the shed. She said she's going to miss them and she knows that they are "leaving"-aka: being turned into "chicken nuggets". But I have to remind her that they are going to be here for a while. It's so hard for kids to understand the concept of time.
They're so cute the first week, but the way I see it, they aren't leaving soon enough!

Is it Lydia or a screaming cat?

2008-04-21T20:43:00.002-05:00

Sounds strangely similar, don't you think?

Fat little baby legs

2008-04-21T13:55:00.002-05:00

so yummy!

She was sitting on my lap while I was editing these and was just staring at the monitor. I wonder what she was thinking?

It's so nice to have the sun out again! We went for a walk today...hoping I can do that more :)

2008-04-17T09:12:00.002-05:00

30!

2008-04-10T18:44:00.005-05:00

He's officially an old man now! But for some reason he thinks he can call me his "old lady", but HELLO!!?? he's the one who is older....something doesn't seem right there.The girls & I surprised him at work yesterday with a cake and lunch.

Cassidy couldn't wait for him to see the surprise we had for him today:

nothing exciting

2008-04-10T18:38:00.003-05:00

sorry I haven't been keeping up with this blog. Nothing much to post, I guess. Here's a couple pictures from last weekend when it was warm & sunny, unlike today.Cassidy likes to rub Daisy's ear...she thinks they're really soft.

This kid couldn't be happier in the stroller. We found out she likes to be outside!

yukky day

2008-03-31T12:55:00.003-05:00

it's a dreary day here...lots of rain. I guess it could be worse. I heard that it's snowing buckets near the cities. I guess I'll take the rain if I have to have it.I think Lydia is getting a tooth. She's been drooling a lot and I think I can feel that sharp little sucker in there. She's also been going through a growth spurt...she's been sleeping all day today and last week she was nursing all the time. I just want to bottle her and keep her this size for a long time, but I know that the playful stage will be here soon and that will be good too.

We had a pretty normal weekend here. We spent Friday evening cleaning up tree branches (from 2 large trees that were cut down), went on our weekly shopping trip on Saturday, church on Sunday and relaxed the rest of the day.

I'm hoping to get some cleaning in this week along with preparing for a stamp class on friday. I bought that Swiffer wetjet mop and I'm hoping it will clean my floors as well as it does when I'm on my hands & knees. I hate mopping the floors.

Have a good week everyone.

another favorite

2008-03-28T16:44:00.001-05:00

3 Months

2008-03-27T20:00:00.002-05:00

I know I'm a little biased, but isn't she just the most beautiful baby?

Had an entire night of uninterrupted sleep last night! It would be great if she sleeps through the night every night!! But today was a different story. She gave me a bit of a challenge. She didn't want to be put down. She loved to just be held, looking out, so she can see the world. Needless to say, mommy didn't get much done today and the house was a disaster. How can I resist that face?

Easter

2008-03-24T09:29:00.005-05:00

We had a great Easter weekend...other than the snow part...I'm sick of that white stuff. Sounds like this week will be nice & sunny.
The easter bunny came and had lots of eggs hidden around the house. Cassidy was so excited to see that the Easter bunny ate all of the lettuce we left out the night before!
We made it to church too. There were all kinds of pretty dresses on all of the little girls. Lydia cried during the service, nothing unusual :) But she did settle down after a while. Cassidy was restless. How are we supposed to concentrate on the sermon with these kids??!!!
After Church we went home and relaxed a little and then went to my parent's for dinner. As always, grandma was up to her usual spoiling. They had eggs hidden in the snow. They were filled with money and as if that wasn't enough, she (I mean Easter bunny) also hid baskets filled with candy & toys! Let me just say it was kinda crazy after the candy was consumed. But they had a fun time which is the most important!

When I was glancing at the thumbnails of my pictures I thought Cassidy was holding a doll in this picture!

Egg hunt

2008-03-22T16:26:00.004-05:00

We went to the egg hunt at our church this morning. They had 1200 eggs that they hid in the snow! Some of them were getting covered with snow because it was snowing pretty good, but was warm out. We had a fun time! Cassidy was so mad that she could only get enough eggs to fill her carton because the school age kids still had to hunt after preschoolers. I don't know what I'm going to do with this kid.
I pawned Lydia off on a lady inside the church so I could go out and take some pictures. After 45 minutes I remembered I had brought Lydia and thought I should probably take her back :) At least someone was being a good kid! Only kidding...we just had the 1 episode, so it was overall good.

A coat with some history

2008-03-16T18:47:00.004-05:00

This little jacket is borrowed from our friends & babysitters: the Douglas girls (as we call them). Jill's mother actually made this dress 40 years ago (I'm just guessing)out of her husband's old suit. It's a gray wool with pink lining and buttons. It's obviously getting short on Cassidy, but hopefully they'll let us keep it so Lydia can wear it.

I just love this picture of Cassidy even though she was being pretty uncooperative for me...as she is most of the time for pictures.

Favorite from Yesterday

2008-03-07T11:29:00.002-06:00

10 Weeks

Just playin'

2008-03-04T09:56:00.002-06:00

playing around with some more favorites....

2 months old

2008-02-27T16:38:00.009-06:00

I had so many cute pictures, it was hard to choose which ones to post.

But these are definitely my favorites. Enjoy!!

Look at those big blue eyes!!

And these eyelashes...I have no idea who she gets them from!

Then, Big Sister needed to get in on the action.

I couldn't decide if I liked color or b&w best??

She's still attached to those blankies....we're going to have to figure out a plan to set fire to them without her knowing.