We are RELOCATING....

Kyle and I have always wanted to raise our kids in a small community, like we grew up in. And the perfect opportunity recently presented itself to us. Kyle was contacted by his hometown hospital about a position that would soon be open. He interviewed, and was offered the postion all within 5 days!! He is the new Materials Management Director- and I am so proud of him :) ((Did I mention he starts in less than 2 weeks))

We always wanted to be back "home" by the time Austin went to school, and now it happening sooner than we thought. It is a great opportunty for Kyle, and we will be making some big decisions over the next couple months, and possibly living apart in order for me to find a job up in the area. We are very excited, yet I feel overwhelmed. I am one who doesnt take well to sudden changes, so I find myself getting worked up trying to figure out all the small details. I need to relax and let things happen. It wont be ideal as I will be in Omaha and my boys will be in Ida Grove for a couple months, but we will get thru it. We are making the right decision for our family, and will be happier being close to family and friends.

So we begin packing after 9 years in Omaha, I will sure miss having Wal-Mart and Target right up the street :)
I have a long to do list, so the next couple months may give me a few gray hairs... I wish I could push a button and move ahead 2 months, and be settled into a new house and have a new job and have everything figured out, but life doesnt work that way- so wish us luck on our new adventure :)

Checkout this Giveaway

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Just simply.

Blog about the giveaway-20 entries
Follow me-15 entries
Blog about my page-10 entries..

Here is the warmer, and the website I have linked so you can check it out..

http://www.scentsy.net/

Happy Valentines Day

Hope everyone had a great day!!!
I'm afraid the Burger King playground will be our home away from home until it is nice enough to get to the park......
It makes him so happy though and he loves yelling, "hey kid" and playing with other children:)

Wonderful Weekend

We had a great weekend!!
Saturday Kyle had to go into work for a few hours, so I made sure that Austin was fed and napped by the time he got home. It was around 40 degrees out so we decided to head to the zoo. The wind was quite chilly, so we went to the indoor exhibits. After about 20 mins of slipping and sliding on the wet cold slick floors in the Gorilla Valley, we decided to head to an IMAX movie. Alaska was playing- but it didnt quite catch Austins attention like Bugs did this past summer.
So we grabbed all our stuff and walked out early and decided to do something a little more "2 year old friendly".
We went to Burger King and had Austins favorite food, "guy guys"- aka french fries. Then we went and played in the playyard area- which Austin loved.

On Sunday Kyle and I went to a movie while our sister in law watched Austin. We rarely get out anymore just the two of us. We definately need to start making that atleast a monthly priority.
We went and saw "Just Go With It", it was a really cute movie. Here is a quick recap;
On a weekend trip to Hawaii, a plastic surgeon convinces his loyal assistant to pose as his soon-to-be-divorced wife in order to cover up a careless lie he told to his much-younger girlfriend.

Love

I have no words..... just a smile on my face and love in my heart for this little man!!!!!

Lifestyle Change

Well.. after alot of contemplating and internal struggle, today is the day. I am starting a healthier lifestyle. Ive struggled with my weight since I was in college, and a few years ago I had lost 35 pounds following the South Beach Diet. But then I got pregnant and gained that back, plus 30 pounds.
I plan to follow South Beach for the most part, but really I going to be making better decisions. It isnt all about dropping the pounds, but becoming healthy and active.
I recently watched Jackie Warners Thintervention and bought one of her workout DVDs, she is such a motivation to me!!
I am excited to start this journey, and have several goals set for myself. I want to be healthy and happy for myself and my health, but also for my family. I want to be able to enjoy all activities with Austin and not be huffing and puffing because I am so out of shape.
I turn 30 in April, which I am not dreading at all. Im looking forward to moving onto a new chapter in my life, and I know by then I will be feeling alot better about myself.  It may be selfish, but for the first time in a long time-- my focus is on ME.  I am going to make my 30th year the best one yet!!!

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Lia Sophia Giveaway.. help me reach 100!!
I absolutely love my blog!!! I want to reach 100 followers, 150, 200, 300 would be great.. I am doing a giveaway a very nice Lia Sophia Bracelet, zebra of course, retails for 58.00.. so help me out girls.

Repost my Giveaway-20 entries
Add an entry about my blog-15 entries
My first 10 new followers will qualify for 10 entries :)

Spread the word.. here is a link as to what the bracelet looks like. (you will have to copy and paste to your browser!! :)

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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 :)