reuse, recycle, go crazy

We have these piles on the floor every 2 feet in the playroom. Anyone else have this problem? I throw them out, probably not a very nice mom thing to do. They aren't missed, so I'm sticking with it.

last day

Holden has successfully finished his first year of preschool. The top picture was from yesterday, and the bottom picture was his first day. What a difference 9 months make! He said he is going to miss his teachers, and they said they are going to miss him too-no joke. Just kidding, they loved Holden, how could you not! He is just a bright and shiny little guy(not so little anymore)

A Few of Our Favorite Things

The weather this holiday weekend was full of rain, tornadoes and other annoying weatherly things. But we managed to entertain ourselves doing a few of our favorite things. We are so super bored with our living situation. We are really, really, really ready to move. I never realized how much a home can keep you pretty busy on the weekends. For the past 10 months we have had virtually no responsibilities on the weekends. No lawn, no honey do list. It was great in the beginning, but even the "honey" admits it will be nice to have a change.

the napping house

Todd's weekend started off just how he likes it-groggy. Friday afternoon naps were on the menu due to a rainy day. These three can heat up to about three hundred degrees under five blankets and lots of snuggles.

scraps

Finally got to a class at Archivers-yeah! It was an acrylic project and it rocked-I'm a total class junkie now! I was happy to have Becca with me. We were totally tickled with the finished project, although neither of us knew what we were going to use it for.

date night

Our weekend would not be complete without a burger at Fudruckers

an afternoon at the lake

Sunday ended up being a really nice day, we were fortunate enough to relax at the lake. Thanks PaPa for the paddle boat ride. Do you think Asher will have strange tan lines? (he is wearing his ninja turtle mask-the hottest summer accessory)

Happy Birthday

Iowa 1975ish Seattle 1998

It's Kit's birthday today. It was great to talk to her and wish her a very happy day. Just lovin' my sisters today, and wishing we were together.

stalker?

This is the only picture I have of our house. You know-the house we bought three weeks ago but don't live in. I drive by it all the time after dropping Holden off at school. Todd called me a stalker. I don't think I could be classified as a stalker-we OWN the house for goodness sakes! So what if other people live there, I'm not hanging around it. I just have to drive by once in a while because I forget what it looks like. Anyways, I'm just trying to get excited about it. I am really looking forward to being in a house, but I can't lie-this was not exactly the house I had envisioned for us. I know it will be great when we get there. The neighborhood will be just what we need at this particular juncture, and the house will shape up with a little work. Lord knows I have been craving projects, and lists of projects I will have! I am counting down the days-20 to be exact.

saturday morning traditions

Des Moines comes alive in the spring. Like all Midwest cities that endure such horrible winters, spring is when we come back to life, and for that matter- get a life. One of DM's greatest events is the Saturday morning farmers market down town. It is jam packed with people, food, entertainment, dogs, crafts-everything. It is like the social event of the weekend, and a great place to hang out with the kids. We have a couple stands that we have to hit every time we go. Our first stop is always the Farm Boys for breakfast burritos(this stop makes Todd very happy, and it is how we motivate him out the door so early on a Saturday) Then Holden has to have a balloon animal, I want a strawberry smoothie, and Asher hunts for something sweet. We groove to a little music, shop for some must have lawn ornaments, grab a big watermelon and we are done. When the good veggies are in, our basket will be a little more full. This week they had all sorts of emergency/police vehicles there for the kids to tour. Holden checked out the helicopter, Asher didn't seem interested. I guess he was too busy people watching.

wrinkled tootsies

I love IKEA

My Dad was in Portland last week visiting my sister. I sent him with a list for IKEA, and he came home with everything I was asking for-thanks Dad!

good morning sleepy heads

Todd was out of town this week(second week in a row) and it was operation "Total Exhaustion" around here. I was in full combat mode for most of the week. My goal-kids that fall into bed at 7:15pm and are not heard from again until 7 the next morning. I have to give myself a little pat on the back because the mission was accomplished(with help from my BFF Becca). Todd is back, and I am happy to have a little more time to myself because I'm totally exausted!

happy

I can't think of a better way to celebrate being a mom. It's an honor to wear a coffee filter flower and hang with my ninja turtles. Happy Mother's Day to all of you great mommies!

Finished projects

Finishing up the last of Holden's teachers gifts. Really happy with how the cube for my mom turned out. She called me today and said she just loved it-yea! I love getting scrappy-the scrappier the better in my opinion. I have an obsession with paper and with Seven Gypsies products. In the world of scrapbooking trends seem to move a little too fast for me, while my style seems to evolve rather slow. No matter what is "in", I love getting down and dirty with glue dots and cute photos.

I am loving my mom's hair style-late 70's for sure :)

Ahh, My Beloved

Todd came home the other night giggling about the email he received after their big auction in Newton. I saw it and was rolling on the floor. What a great GOTCHA from his coworkers. He passed it along to his friends in Cincinnati, and the Crusty the Clown picture came back from his old boss at Worldwide. He said he found more pictures of Todd on the internet. My husband gets a little hurt that I never mention him on my blog. Ok honey-I vow to write about you more often. Especially if pictures like this keep rolling in ;)

believe it or not

3 Things I can't believe:
1. My baby is this big!
2. It's May 3rd and we are all bundled up to play outside
3. I'm tired of Asher's Binky(if you know me, you know that's amazing)

super cool

I'm pretty sure Holden knows he's not two. I think he is working on his movie star image and flashing the peace sign. You know my four year old, always globally conscious and current on events. We finally got him a new bike. He had grown out of his "Gravel Blaster" at the end of last year. He got on it earlier this spring and looked like he was part of a circus act. Like a big bear on a tricycle. So we made a trek to Walmart(the satan of all retail stores) and purchased one that he is crazy about-yellow of coarse. We argue about him wearing a helmet. He is certain that he doesn't need it, I am certain he does. The kids next door to us don't wear them. Have I mentioned these neighbors before? Well, in a nut shell, these two kids suck. Not very nice to say, but I can't help it. They are driving me insane, and Holden is completely taken with them. He told us in the car this morning that his "best friends" birthday's(they are twins) are around Christmas time. To which Todd replied. "Good, that gives us plenty of time to miss it." Moving into our house next month will be that much sweeter after never having to see those two again. Anyways, Holden is excited that his new bike has a hand break-cool! And pegs for tricks-super cool! We'll see what kinda of tricks he comes up with. I can't imagine anything too death defying with training wheels on :)