One of those days.....

It happens........
Running late for work trying to wrestle with a 2 year old to get his coat and hat on. Then I get to the car and realize I forgot to grab my purse. The drive to daycare is filled with screams, "mama-no"
We pull in the babysitters driveway and get out of the car and he decides to lay down on the driveway in front of the car and scream (even though it is apprx 20 degrees outside).
At this point I am almost in tears, and sweating trying to compose myself. We walk in and he looks at me and says, "bye mama", and smiles.
Having a two year old has definitely taught me to be a more patient person :)
On days like this- I remind myself of how sweet he can be and how much I love him.

(And I picture how peaceful and sweet he looks when he is sleeping- lol)

Big boy....

Austin has not been sleeping well in his crib. He moves around alot in his sleep and does not like the feeling of being "trapped" in his crib. So I thought I would take the front off the crib and let him test the waters of the big boy bed. He was more interested in climbing the rails of the crib though. I snapped a couple pics on my camera phone of our little dare devel in action. (Dont worry-- there is a giant football bean bag chair behind him and I was right there in case he fell)).

Class of 99

We had our 11 year class reunion this past weekend. Odd isnt it, well we can thank facebook for even planning an 11 year. It was alot of fun seeing old classmates. We started the day out in Mapleton golfing, then went and toured the new high school and walked thru the old school. Ahh, the memories.
In the afternoon we met at the Danbury City Park, and tailgated and watched the Iowa vs Iowa State game. In the evening we met at the local bar in Danbury and had a great time.

Will try to post some pics later

Back to Work

I started a new job a couple weeks ago- after several months of looking. I am now at Lincoln Financial Group here in Omaha in the Insurance Solutions department and so far I love it. I was unsure how Austin would adapt to going back to daycare. But he is fine, I think he missed April and all his little friends. Every morning he says, "bye bye- chi chi". Aprils dog is named Chi Chi, so I know he wants to go, and that makes me very happy.

Tornado Drill

We have had a few really bad storms so far this summer. The tornado siren is literally across the street, so there is no missing it. We gather up a few toys and head to the bathroom to wait out the storm. As you can see this is Austins time to play with the toilet paper. We have had some minimal damage with the 65 mph winds and a couple screens have blown off, but nothing major.

Summer Fun

This summer has been alot of fun. Since being let go from TDAmeritrade, Ive been a stay at home mom. Austin and I have had a blast this summer and Im so lucky to have been able to spend every day with him, enjoying new activities-exploring-laughing-crying and playing togethor.
The summer was filled with many trips to the zoo, park, pool and alot of lazy afternoon naps togethor.

Baby makes 4

On Wednesday Austin and I came up to Ida Grove to watch our friend Angie & Neal's little boy Brady, while they headed to Sioux City to have baby boy number 2!!
It was nice to get out of Omaha and enjoy being with friends, and Austin loved playing with all his little buddies.
On Thursday afternoon Brogan Louis joined the Watkins family- He is adorable and we are so happy for them.

Easter -- Part 2

Easter Sunday we made the trip up to Battle Creek to spend the day with my family. We had a very nice time, ate too much and played Rumikubs. My Aunt Dina and I took Austin up to feed a couple horses at the edge of town. He wasn't too sure of the horses at first, as they are pretty tame and came right up to us. I miss small town atmosphere. I cant drive a few blocks in Omaha to feed horses anytime I want :(

Easter - Part 1

Saturday we had Easter in Omaha with the Hansen family. We let Austin have his easter basket in the morning before we headed over to Kyles brothers house for dinner. He is in love with his new golf clubs- would be great if he is the next Tiger Woods (without the infidelity of course :)

Good Friends

Saturday we made the trip up to Ida Grove for Lexi's third birthday party. Its great that our friends have kids close to Austins age. I hope they will grow up to be the best of friends. Austin had a great time playing, and it was nice to catch up and enjoy everyones company.

Weekends at the farm

Sunday we went out to my parents house for lunch. Austin has really been into books lately. When I'm not reading to him he will sit and talk in his own language and pretend that he is reading. He even got grandpa to read him a book.

Ch..Ch..Changes

It has been well over a month since I last blogged. Alot has happened and the past 6 weeks have been quite stressful. After 4 years of working at TD Ameritrade, I was let go rather abruptly. I was very surprised that it happened, and the reason was a pitiful excuse in my mind. But I wont get into all that, as it still upsets me how I was treated. But when one door closes another one opens.

One nice thing is that I have been able to stay home with Austin :)
I wish I could be a stay at home mom indefinitely, but I know I will need to find a different job in the next couple months (but for now we are enjoying spending ALOT of quality time together)

Getting into things......

Austin amazes us each day, he is doing the silliest things and getting into stuff every second. For some reason he insists on coming into the bathroom with me, and he is itching to play in the toilet. After I coerce him out of the bathroom, he darts over to the fridge or the pantry.

He sure keeps us on our toes, but I wouldnt want it any other way :)

The Love Dare

Kyle and I have decided to complete the LoveDare Challenge. Today is day one, and I'm excited to start this process, and help strenghen our relationship. At times we get so caught up in the day to day tasks that we don't spend quality time together. Have you heard of this book, or know anyone that has completed it? It so, we would love to hear your feedback.


The Love Dare personally leads you through daily devotionals, records your thoughts and experiences, and ends each day daring you to perform a simple act of love for your spouse. This 40-Day journey equips you to melt hardened, separated hearts into an enduring love that can withstand the flames of fear, pride and temptation. The Love Dare book will help you reinforce and enrich your marriage.

These boots were made for.......

I got my hair done Saturday (got rid of the horrid "mom hair") and I felt the need to go shoe shopping. What girl doesnt love that!! I have to admit that since having Austin I have let myself go a bit. With my weight and my hair style and clothes. So when I saw these boots.... I knew they were made for ME!!! I got them at DSW 30% off-- and I LOVE THEM. We went to a surprise birthday party Saturday night for my husbands brother, and I wore them with my jeans tucked into them, and a cute little blue shirt I got at Ann Taylor Loft with a tan cardigan!! I felt pretty stylish- fun to get to dress up every once in a while.

It was my day for deals.. Ann Taylor Loft was having a great sale too!!!

Jakester Shoes by Rileyroos

Be sure to check out http://brodyfrancis.blogspot.com/
She is having a great giveaway- A pair of these adorable shoes that come in 4 different colors and range from size 3-24 months.

Pancakes and Peaches

We have started the tradition of having pancakes on Sunday mornings. And let me tell you, Austin is like a garbage disposal. He ate 3 small pancakes, a cup of peaches, fruit puffs, a 8 oz bottle AND.. he wanted more. It is kind of gross how much this kid can eat.... Does anyone else have a kid that eats and eats and eats- or do you have picky eaters?
He is around 50% on the full term baby scale for weight- so I dont think we need to be concerned. It just amazes us at how much he chows down.

Ive been bad...........

Ive been bad...........A bad blogger that is. I realized that I haven't blogged in over a month, and I vow to get back on the blogging bandwagon. I need to get all our Christmas pictures printed and sorted thru and posted. So that is the goal for this week :)
We had a fun weekend at home. Austin is on the verge of walking- which makes us so happy. Looking back to what we were doing a year ago- ( he was at home hooked up to the apnea monitor- stuck at home because it was RSV season)-
Its amazing how much he has grown and changed- it has been the best year of our lives!! This little guy amazes us each day. ( He takes after his dad- has no desire to let go of the remote))