| The smallest things are what fill up your heart the most. |
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My friend's cousin is a lovely photographer and she came to our home this week to capture some imagery for our upcoming party. She pulled prop after prop out of her van and spent some real quality time with O. It was really nice not having to bring Olivia anywhere for the shoot.... Check out some of the photos: http://tinavega.zenfolio.com/emily Thanks, Tina - your kindness and talent is so appreciated!
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In honor of National Scrap Day, I am planning to meet one of my gf's at Archivers for a little scrap mania. This is a whole evening of just dinner, paper, glue, ideas and inspiration.
I have been brainstorming for O's first birthday invites and decorations but need some dedicated time away from my little ladies little fingers. It is incredibly hard to accomplish anything at home with her, right now. Amy's got some scrappin to do from her recent trips and I am thrilled to catch up on her adventures! Obviously, I look forward to some one-on-one girl time with Amy but am excited to get a creative outlet for a night. I HATE our kitchen and now that I've been staying home with Olivia it drives me more nuts walking in and out of the small outdated space. I've been saving up for it and now the day has come! We are getting new countertops and remodeling our cabinets!
I spent several hours and days looking at paints, countertops and back splashes and we finally came to our final decision Wednesday. We paid for our products and are SUPER excited to have the installer come measure and start making our new pieces. Sadly, we are not expanding our kitchen size, as that would be about a $20, 000 remodel, but we will get there someday. We are also keeping our appliances - they are only 2-3 years old. I'll be sure to post some before and after photos and keep you posted on the details as they come. So far, we have our measure date set for 5.6.10 at 9 a.m. A few weeks ago I get this check in the mail and of course thought it was just junk. I was too curious to just shred it so I checked it out and reviewed the letter that came included. Turns out it was REAL MONEY!
Several years back, my brother Mike and I ordered Ab Flex bands off an infomercial. This product was what we had thought we could buy to cure our flabby abbies. The trick was to add a little gel to the inside lining of the belt and stick it on your abs for a number of minutes. It would pulsate and in a few days (or something like that) you'd look like a new person! It didn't seem to do the trick for me and apparently not for anyone else, either. Someone sued and after a major lawsuit the company was fined for misrepresenting its product and had to dish out partial refunds. I think with the extra money I'll reward myself with a peanut buster parfait. : )  I've been enjoying all the nice weather lately and haven't made time for any blogs. With the beautiful sun shining I have forgotten all about my computer. So, I think for now, I'll continue updating photos but keep the blogging for rainy days.
Rob and I have been carefully discussing the fate of Cody and Bo. We are very interested in getting back some "free" time and with working full-time, running a licensed childcare and having a 10 month old, we just don't give the boys the attention they deserve. I feel badly each day that they are cooped up in cages or the garage when kids are here and more so in the evenings when we are pooped and don't take them on the walks they so enjoy. Even though I feel like the worlds biggest HYPOCRITE, we've been debating what we should do and decided to post an ad on Craig's List to see if anyone was interested. We had tons of hits but mostly for our hunting dog - Bo. We thought it be best if we kept them together because they are so co-dependent. Once we started our screening process, we went to Savage to meet with a family (Mike and Jill) that recently had to put their springer down. They had their pup for 15 years and wanted to adopt two dogs this time. They are and incredibly nice couple and have a 20 year old son in college now. They have a nice fenced in backyard, take walks every evening and are devoted to family pets. We've selected them to adopt the pooches and are incredibly grateful for them. We have worked out and "open-adoption" and Rob will continue to take Bo pheasant hunting whenever he wants, we will be able to visit when time allows and when they go on vacations we will have the dogs for a week or so. They've promised to keep us posted on any life events and periodic photos. Really, this couldn't have worked out any better for all of us. The official adoption day will be Friday April 16th and I'll try to remember a box of kleenex. Here is a little timeline of our lives together. April 2006, we picked up Cody from S. Minneapolis when he was 11 weeks old. He grew nearly 20 lbs every 2 months until he maxed out at 100lbs. He's been so lovie and tried to be a lap dog since the day he came home. He loves food, rawhides and food! He tries to be a gentle giant, but just doesn't know his own strength. He LOVES kids and would lick them all day. Only 6 months later we were at the Game Fair in Ramsey and stumbled upon a little litter of springers. I couldn't walk away. Bo came home and thought his 6 month older brother was his mommy and they've slept on top or each other nearly every night of their lives. Bo is a great hunter and loves the outdoors. He could care less about food unless Cody is trying to steal his. He is an incredibly gentle pup and very independent. He loves kids and anyone who will throw his tennis ball. He will be missed most by Rob as he has claimed bo to be his favorite pooch ever. It will be sad looking around our yard with out little/big tails wiggling and Olivia growing up without the dogs but it will provide them and us with more of what we need on a daily basis.         Each year my step-dad, Bill, gets pranked by the ladies in his office. This year, he opened his front door and saw that he had been "Flocked". Check it out...   Friday April 2nd was Kathy's birthday! Rob and I had planned to spend the whole day with her and it very nice! We took the day off, packed up the kid and pooched and traveled to Garrison. Later that evening we joined up with Rob's brothers/families for dinner. It was a nice time and the first experience for us ordering off the kids menu for Olivia. She's been eating table food for a long while but we've never ordered something just for her. On Saturday Kathy worked all morning on an Easter Dinner for all of us and we spent some family time cleaning out Bob's shed. The boys picked out things they wanted before Kathy has her garage sale. After that project commenced, we sat around with the family, ate more and just had some fun times with Olivia's cousins Joey and Mikenna from WI. We wish they lived closer, but will look forward spending next weekend with them again when we head back up for the Family Reunion.   |     ArchivesSeptember 2012 "She's the one all the boys loved because she lit up the room, and she's the one all the girls hated for the very same reason."
" a smile confuses an approaching frown." |