Dedicated DS Player!

She is one dedicated DS player.

Couldn't even put it down to go to the bathroom :)

Santa Came!

Since we are in Newton every year for Christmas, Santa usually comes the weekend before to our house in Iowa. He came this morning and Jaiden didn't even know he was coming. It took her a little while to realize that there were presents for her under the tree. She got a Nintendo DS, DS accessories and games, Hannah Montana guitar, some ponyville stuff, and a cup cake maker. She was so excited about everything. I love this age at Christmas, they are so much fun. This was a good day for Santa to come since it is -7 temperature outside with a wind chill of -36. We are not going anywhere today and she sure is enjoying her DS.

Playing In The Snow

Friday night we had to shovel the drive again and it was actually in the 20's outside so Jaiden got to play in the snow for the first time this year. We have had snow for a couple weeks but it had been way too cold to play in it. Her and the neighbor girl had a blast. Eric buried them in the big snow pile at the end of the drive.

Our Newest Obsession

We are so addicted to this game. It is so much fun!

Birthday Pictures

Here are a few from the Hannah Montana party

Uncle Kent with his 2 favorite girls

Here present and balloons she woke up to Sunday morning

and Sunday afternoon we went to see Bolt in 3D (that's what the glasses are about)

We asked her what her favorite part about her birthday was and she said everything- this was the best birthday ever :)

Happy Birthday Jaiden!

My baby girl turned 5 today. I cannot believe she is that old already. Time sure does fly. We had a Hannah Montana birthday party when we were home for Thanksgiving with all the family and friends and today we had our own little party for her. She woke up to balloons and her birthday present from us. Then we took her to see Bolt in 3D and ate at Ruby Tuesday's afterwards. We wanted to go to a place that would sing to her for her birthday but apparently not to many restaurants do that anymore, but she still got her ice cream :)

Pictures to follow tomorrow. For some reason I cannot get any pictures to upload.

Santa Again

Today Santa came to Yellowbook. Every year the employees can sign their kids up to see Santa and get a gift. Last year was the first year she would sit on his lap and this year when she sat on his lap she kind of froze up. She has two full pages of stuff she is going to send Santa and every commercial and catalog she is constantly saying "I want that for Christmas" and today when the big guy asked her the question the only thing she could come up with was a paint set. A paint set? She has been going on and on about wanting a Nintendo DS this year and she says a paint set. Then me and Jaiden went with our friends Brandy and Madison to look at Christmas decorations and to eat lunch while the guys went to Des Moines, while we were there saw Santa again. So here we are chance number 2 to tell him what she wants and again says a paint set. When we were leaving I said to her "I thought you were going to tell him you wanted a DS" so then she says " It doesn't matter cause he is a fake one anyway" I asked her how she knew that and she said "cause the real one is still at Yellowbook" and had this look on her face like DUH! So today she got a Pucci Puppy. It is a princess puppy with a carrier, leash, brush and a treat. I think were Santa'd out for this year. She is just ready for him to come to her house. :)

Here she is so patiently waiting in line.

And this is the Pucci Puppy.

The Tooth Fairy Came

She was so excited to reach under her pillow the next morning. She was so tired though. She didn't even get up she kept her eyes closed and reached under and this was the reaction I got.

And this one she raised her arm still hadn't opened her eyes and said "Yesssss"!

The Tooth Fairy Is Coming Tonight!

Jaiden lost her first tooth tonight. It has been just "hanging" there for a week or so and she finally got up enough nerve to pull it out. Eric did the whole fishing story and got it super loose and then she moved it and it fell out. She is so excited. She wants the tooth fairy to bring her quarters. Thank goodness for the change holder in the car. At 10 o'clock I was outside digging for 12 quarters. Jackpot! Whew, neither one of us was willing to get out in the 7 degree snowing weather to go to the gas station to get quarters.



In the picture above the tooth is in the baggie. That way it wouldn't get lost under her pillow.

Banned From Target!

No just kidding we aren't banned from target but let me tell you our experience on Sunday. Eric dropped me and Jaiden off at Target on Sunday to get some Christmas shopping done while he went and got his hair cut. We walked in and the security thing beeped at us. I didn't think anything because we were walking in and a lot of those things never work right and go off all the time. So we do our shopping, pay, and wait around for a few minutes for Eric to get back to pick us up. We start to walk out and the thing beeps. So the "rent a cop" came up to us to check our bags to make sure we didn't steal anything and asks for our receipt. He was looking at everything and says "huh, wonder what made that go off. You didn't buy anything that would make it go off". He says "go ahead and go" and Jaiden was a little ahead of me and when she walked through with nothing in her hand, the thing beeped again. I stopped and said "Jaiden get back here". I was thinking to myself OMG she knows better than to put anything in her pocket without paying for it first. The security guy (who had to have only been pushing 20) kind of looked at me like he didn't really know what to do. I looked in Jaiden's pocket, and nothing. Then he caught this tag in her coat that apparently had set it off.
So here is the story of her coat. I bought her a coat last winter on clearance at old navy for this winter. I has been hanging in the closet since and when it got cold a couple of months ago I pulled it out and she has worn it everyday since. There is a tag in the coat that says remove before washing. I am the kind of person that waits until I wash it to remove it. I never think about it actually get the scissors out to cut it off when we are leaving or when we get home. Apparently those tags are the security feature that they deactivate when you buy it. Little did I know they reactivate their self after so long. So this is why we were "beeped" at Target.

Breakfast With Santa

Today was a busy day. We woke up at 5:30 a.m. got ready and went to Kohl's to do some Christmas shopping. Then we headed to the mall for breakfast with Santa. Jaiden got to look in a glass ball and if she could see herself she was on the "nice" list. Whew! She was there :) She then got to pick out of Santa's bag and she picked out a little stuffed bear.

Then we headed to Boone, IA which is about 2 1/2 hours away to ride the Polar Express. Jaiden has been obsessed the the Polar Express movie for a couple years. It was really pretty neat. The kids wore their jammies, took an hour train ride to the North Pole, they read them the polar express book, sang Christmas Carols, we were served hot cocoa and cookies, and each kid got a bell off Santa's sleigh. It was just like the movie. She was so excited!

Then we drove back to Cedar Rapids, and did more Christmas shopping and grocery shopping and got home at 9 p.m. Needless to say it took Jaiden about 10 seconds to fall asleep tonight and it took Eric about 20 seconds :) I think we all had a blast today. Tomorrow we are going to have a little R & R.

O' Christmas Tree

Friday night after work we went to get our Christmas tree. This is the first year we have got a real tree. It was so very cold picking one out. Jaiden got to pick between a couple that Eric picked out first.

Jaiden is really enjoying the Christmas spirit this year and having a lot of fun with it.

Here is the almost finished product. Of course I had to move around a few ornaments after she went to bed since they were all on the bottom branches :)

Special Delivery

I came home Wednesday from work and I had a package on my porch. When I opened it, it was the purse I have been wanting. A giraffe print. It was from my good friend Jessica. I absolutely love it. Of course it had to make the blog :)

Thanks Jess- I love it!

So Long..... Farwell

This is Diamond and Missy our Dobie's. Diamond is 3 and Missy is 1 and a half. Again, for those of you who don't know I am not a real animal lover. I don't hate them but I hate the hair, muddy footprints, slobber, and I could go on but I won't. Anyway, we just do not have time for inside dogs. They are in their crates probably all but 2 hours a day and we realized that is no way for a dog to live so we gave them up for adoption yesterday. We took them to a Doberman rescue home. Eric was kind of attached to Diamond and didn't really want to get rid of him but then he realized that he would be better off too. When we met the "foster parent" she literally buckled them both in seat belts in her back seat. Then we went on to talk about things and "signed our rights away" and she said she lives in a huge 2 story house on four acres that are fenced in and they can run and play with other Dobie's. And they have their own bedroom in her house. Wow!They are way better off than here :) Anyway we received and email from her today that they are adjusting well. I think that made Eric feel a little better about the whole deal.

By the way, this picture above is the only time ever that they had laid down and weren't wrestling around. Let's just say that they were hyper dogs. And that is one more thing I have not missed.

Missing Bat

Bat (the cat) went to visit Grandma and Grandpa this week. We are missing the cuddling.

Actually he went there to get fixed and declawed. It was much cheaper in Newton than around here. He rode back with Uncle Kendall when he left Monday. Grandma Peggy said he is doing fine after his "procedure" :) We found out that he is 6 months old. We weren't sure since he was a stray when we got him.

Goodbye Boot!

Woo-hoo finally today I got rid of my walking boot and can finally start driving again. I haven't driven since Oct 15. That is a really really long time. I just got back from my "test drive" and passed with flying colors :) I can move my toe down perfectly but still cannot lift it up. So now I have to go to 4 weeks of physical therapy. Hopefully that will get it strengthened back up. He said I should have had more movement than what I do. Let's all hope that it works!

Last Weekend

Last weekend Eric's brother and his girlfriend came up to see us. We did some shopping and tons of eating and went to the Buckcherry concert. I would post some pictures but of course I forgot my camera and I forgot the directions to the concert. Needless to say Eric wasn't very happy with me on the ride there :) Luckily he has GPS on his phone and we made it there okay.
The concert was extremely loud. They had Saving Able, Avenged Sevenfold, Buckcherry, and Shinedown. It was nice to get out and about with other adults. At this place you kind of just sat where you could find a spot and of course we get a spot that the kid (who didn't even look 21) next to us was drunker than I have ever seen anyone and by the end of the night he was puking everywhere and the guy behind us caught his hand on fire. It was a pretty interesting night.

Just A Little Catch Up

I have been out of blog mode for a couple weeks but here is a little catch up. I got my stitches out a little over a week ago, still in the boot for another week, then hopefully I can drive. I think Eric is getting tired of being my chauffeur. I am supposed to exercise it 200 times 3x's a day. What a pain in the butt. I still cannot move my toe on my own so I guess we will see what the doc says Thursday.

Jaiden was sick all last weekend with a high fever. We went to the doctor and ended up she has a UTI. Poor thing. So she is finishing up her round of antibiotics. She had to miss a Halloween party at her friends house and she was pretty upset about that but I got her a Hannah Montana diary so she was over that pretty quick. She is feeling better now so hopefully we can keep out of the doctors offices for a while.

This weekend Eric's brother and girlfriend came up so we actually have people to talk to. Today we are going to the Buck Cherry concert in Waterloo. I cannot wait. I am sooo excited. I am hoping to get some pictures tonight so I can post them. Jaiden is spending the night at a friends house for the very first time tonight. (actually it is just our next door neighbors so if she chickens out we will be home late and she can come home) She is pretty excited about that.

That is about all that has happened in the last couple weeks- not real exciting but just to let you all know I am still out here :)

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday Amber!

Hope you have a good one and I will see you in a couple of weeks!

Rock Star!

Little Miss Hannah Montana!

Jaiden really enjoyed trick or treating this year. She got sooooo much candy. Hope everyone had a good Halloween!

Favorite Underwear?

I usually lay out clothes for Jaiden in the morning but she usually picks out something different. Well today when we got home from school she yelled to me from the bathroom "Mommy I have 2 pair of underwear on" I started laughing and she said "you picked out princess ones but the Hannah Montana ones are my favorite". Too funny!

My Foot Now

Here is what my foot looked like Monday at my appt.

It didn't take a real good picture. My feet are not the prettiest anyway but this picture it is REALLY not pretty. The incision is 2-3 inches long. Not as bad as I thought it would be. Eric made a funny when the doctor was telling us (before surgery) he wasn't sure how bad the scarring would be or how big the incision would be, he said "well there goes your modeling contract" :) I thought that was pretty good. My next appt is the 6th and I think the stitches come out but not for sure, so I will post again after they come out. By the way, I had to take all polish off before surgery and they put the red polish on my toe to make sure they were working on the correct foot. I usually don't let my polish get that bad. :)

I've Been Tagged

The rules go like this:
1. Post the rules on your blog.
2. Write 6 random things about yourself.
3. Tag 6 people at the end of your post(or as many as you want)
4. If you are tagged, do it and pass the tag along.
5. Enjoy


1. I LOVE to have my hair brushed, played with, etc. (Jaiden and I play beauty shop a lot)

2. I have always said I would like to have 3 kids but with Jaiden turning 5 in December, I still don't feel ready for #2 yet. Huh?

3. If we had a chance to move closer to Newton, we would do it in a heartbeat. You don't realize how much you miss the little things until you move 6 hours away.

4. I start thinking and planning out what to buy for Christmas in August.

5. Anytime I make or order something with meat in it, I pick it out and do not eat it. examples- chicken Alfredo, I don't eat the chicken, spaghetti- I don't eat the hamburger, etc. But if I have a hamburger or chicken breast I can eat the meat? Weird I know.

6. My favorite TV show is CSI- I love the weekends spike has the marathons :)

I like Aubrey's idea from Just Me & My Boys. I am not going to tag anyone (your welcome Amber) I just want whoever reads to drop in and say hi.

You Have Got To Be Kidding Me!

This is our view this evening-

First snowfall in Cedar Rapids, Iowa- October 26th. CRAZY!

I am not ready for this weather.

I Can't Believe My Eyes!

I have been on the couch since Thursday and the house is spotless. Eric has kept the kitchen clean, the whole house (including the basement) has been vacuumed twice, he has Jaiden trained to pick up after herself- bedroom, toy room, and take her plates to the sink after eating, and today I watched Eric take the vacuum along the corners, ceiling, and baseboards getting the spiderwebs. I couldn't believe my eyes. I asked him to get me the camera so I could take his picture to put it on my blog and he gave me the most evil look and said "I don't think so". Wonder what he is so grouchy about :) No really he hasn't even complained once!

Tomorrow at 8 am is my follow-up with the doctor for my foot. We have the camera ready to take a pic of what it looks like. I have no idea the size of the incision or how many stitches there are. I know, I know, now you are on the edge of your seat and can't wait until tomorrow :)

Thanks For The Pretty's

I just wanted to tell everyone thanks for the calls, texts, emails, balloons, candy, flowers and fruit. They really do brighten up a room and make me feel a little better :)It has officially been 24 hours since I have been helpless. Eric has done a wonderful job cooking, cleaning, laundry, and helping me up and down to the bathroom and getting up in the middle of the night with me. He has done more in the last few days helping than he has the 7 1/2 years we have been married :) (now he has shown me that he can do it so I hope he is not expecting to stop when I get better). Here are some pics of the stuff I have got.

This is from my mom and dad and brothers wishing they could be here with me :) Now I hope I can keep it alive.

These balloons are from Eric's New Media Team at Yellowbook. In the bag was 10 full size candy bars :) They are the "coolest" ;)

And this is from Chris, Jessica, and Claire Collins. This is from Edible Arrangements. This is one of the coolest places I have seen. I love fruit!

Thanks Again Everyone!

My New Tread

This is my new boot that I will be wearing for the next 3-4 weeks. It is not very comfortable and it makes my foot sweat worse than it already does. Isn't it pretty? I am sure it will go well with my work clothes :)

OUCH!

Well I do not recommend this surgery to anyone! It was all fine and dandy until the numbness wore off about 8 last night. It was not a good night. I had to break down and take my pain meds. I have never taken pain meds before. They really are not affecting me at all. It seems like they are wearing off before it is time to take my next dose and then when I can take the next dose it takes an hour or so to kick in. I am not having fun at all. Although I do have a beautiful planter that my mom sent me and a bunch of balloons with a bunch of candy bars from Eric's team at work. Don't worry I will be posting pictures of both of these when I can get Eric to take a picture for me.

The surgery went well. It took about an hour in the OR and then about an hour in recovery. The doctor said that everything went back together perfectly. He was worried that the tendon would be stretched too far and have to put a piece of cadaver in my foot but luckily, it all went good and no cadaver in my foot :)

Some Bad News!

Well, I went to the foot doctor today thinking that they could re-open my wound and fix the tendon and they couldn't. So I am scheduled for surgery on Thursday morning. YUCK! I am not excited at all. The doctor said that the tendon is like a "rubber band" and since the tendon is in two, it went further up me foot and further down my toe and now he cannot just re-open the cut already there and fix it, he has to make a new incision (the opposite way) to re-attach it. So I am on the couch for 4 straight days. Again something I am not excited about. I should be able to go back to work on Monday. I have an appt and he will decide to release me or not then. So if anyone has any ideas what a person could do while laying on the couch for 4 days, let me know :)

When It Rains It Pours!

Well if you read my post before, this week Jaiden was sick Monday afternoon through Wednesday. I used most all of the personal time I had at work to stay home with her. She had high fever and puking. I made an appt for her to see the doctor Wednesday but we never made it. Reason being, I cut a tendon on the top of my foot that controls the movement in my big toe.

Wednesday recap- I got up at 4:30 a.m to get to work as early as I could because I could only work until 11 a.m. because Eric HAD to go in to work. He had managers from other offices there and an interviewee coming in. So I was up early (and I am not a morning person) to get some hours in because I didn't have enough hours to take. If you take unpaid time off you will get written up at work. Came home and after a couple hours Jaiden was feeling fine. I was a little irritated because again I am at home taking what little sick time I have when she probably could have gone to daycare. So I thought while I was home I would make a good supper (for once). I ended up baking a ham all afternoon, making cheesy potatoes, sweet potato casserole, corn, and even baked an Oreo cake for dessert. Well I took the ham out of the oven put it on a platter to cut and carried the casserole dish to pour out the juices and when putting the glass casserole dish back on the counter it broke. It fell right on top on my foot and sliced it open. Eric is not home yet and I am bleeding everywhere. I soaked 4 washcloths. I yelled for Jaiden to bring me my phone and more towels. I told her not to come in the kitchen because there was glass and blood everywhere. Of course she had to look. She did really well, she just kept saying ouch really slow and staring at it. I called Eric and he was still about 20 minutes away. I hobbled to the bathroom and because I think ahead, shaved the bottom portion of my leg because I knew my pant leg would be pulled up and well let's just say it had been a while since I had shaved. While doing that I realized that I could not move my big toe. I though great, knowing I was in for more than just stitches. So I get to the ER and wait and wait. They try to get a hold of a foot doctor and wouldn't you know it, they were all in Des Moines for conferences. So they went ahead and stitched it up and made me an appt for Monday with the foot doc. I am not real excited about this. On Monday, 5 days after the cut healing, they are going to have to take out my stitches and re-open my wound to fix the tendon. So really I have to re-live the experience from Wednesday night. Anyway, after getting home at 1 a.m from the ER I went to bed and had to get up and go to work in the morning because as you read above- I used all my personal time staying home with Jaiden. Below is a picture of my cut after they cleaned it out and waiting for someone to come in to give me stitches. I am so glad Eric thought to take a picture of it.

Jaiden spent the whole evening with us because the neighbors were not home when we left and we do not know (or trust) anyone else to watch her. She was wide eyed and watched the whole thing. She was perfect. When they asked what happened I told them I dropped a casserole dish on it and she pipes in and says "yep no more casseroles in our house", then when they said they would stitch it up she looked and me with big eyes and says "mom, you know there going to use a needle to put stitches in". I am just glad that the weekend is here and I can catch up on my rest. Eric has been wonderful and has cooked and cleaned since it happened. Jaiden thinks from now on I need to wear shoes in the kitchen when I cook and told me I should cook with paper plates from now on too :)

Disney Playhouse Live

Finally time to post pictures of Disney. I think Jaiden had a good time although her favorite part was the snacks. She had popcorn, nachos and a pop and she wanted more. We had to cut her off.