Santa

Well we made it to the mall to see Santa Claus. Everything was going pretty smoothly, I got the girls in the car, stroller, and in the mall without a lot of difficulty. The one thing I didn't like was the amount of dirty snow in the parking lot that I had to push my stroller through....uggh but what can you do. So we did a little shopping and we were off to see Santa.

Santa was not too busy but we had to wait in a little line, which we did get cut off but since it was Christmas I didn't say anything. I know, I know the big double stroller with two kids is easy to miss and it would be very easy to not see us and just cut right in line. Anyways no big deal Teagan was very patient and liked to watch Santa..........however we go to sit with Santa and Harper first spits up on him (Thank goodness for that burp cloth I packed!!), and then Teagan starts screaming even though I'm sitting right next to her. Anyways here is a picture to enjoy :)

We made the most of our Saturday and went shopping for a Christmas tree. We have a Christmas Tree farm about 1/2 mile down the road from us right on the highway but unfortunately it's closed this season. (how can a Christmas Tree farm be closed for Christmas??!) Anyways we went down to Grundy Center where they had a nice little and I mean LITTLE Christmas Tree Farm. The people there were really nice and since it wasn't very big we had about 5 trees to choose from. Since Brandon's truck didn't want to start in this cold weather we were styling carrying it home on the trunk of our car. Thanks to Brandon's inventive way of using twine we are pretty classy folks!

When we got home we had an amazing visitor!! Chad a guy that works with Brandon dropped off an extra snow blower that he has to let us borrow it for a little while. Brandon greatly appreciates it since he had to hand shovel our driveway after the blizzard this week.

Now were settled in our warm house with the ornaments and lights on the tree, chili in the crock pot, and Polar Express is on tonight. Ah I love being home with my family on the Weekends :)

Going to see Santa tomorrow!!

I am getting all prepared to go see Santa tomorrow!! I am really excited to see how the girls react, the only problem is I'm taking them by myself. I keep debating back in fourth how crazy can I be!!!??!! Seriously tomorrow is probably going to be a busy day for Santa (not that it wasn't last year when I took Teagan on Christmas Eve day nothing like waiting till the last minute) So tomorrow the mall I am sure will be packed and I'm going to brave it with both girls alone. Hmmm maybe I should re-think this, nah I'll try it out and let you know how it goes.

So heres the plan.....Double Stroller?? or sling and Teagan walks?? Well to be on the safe side I think I'm going to go with both. Why not pack a suit case while heading to the mall. I am going to need a bottle, formula (Grrr I can't wait till Harper turns a year!! so much easier just to buy milk), Diapers, extra out fit for Harper, two extra outfits for Teagan, burp cloth (even though I usually use my sleeve), Wipes, snacks, hand sanitizer, and some toys for harper. Ok think I've got the bag packed!!

Now on to set stuff out to get the girls ready to brave the freezing cold Iowa weather. Snow suit for Harper, hat, and shoes. Teagan: Coat, hat, mittens, scarf, and boots. Now that I'm thinking about how cold its going to be I should probably bring the stroller inside to let it warm up and then put it in my car in the morning.

Now to get everything to the car.......talk Brandon into putting the diaper bag, and stroller in in the morning, turn my car around in the driveway (with the snow piles we are getting pretty good at 3-point turns) and warm car up. Bundle up both girls (note to self have Teagan go potty prior to bundling), Have Teagan Stand by the door in the entry way, carry Harper to the car, buckle Harper in the warm car, and back to the entry way to carry Teagan out, and buckle her in. Wow that sounds like a lot of work and thats just if things go as planned........no doubt that before I get them buckled in one of them will have taken off their hat, maybe even shoes, and socks, and for sure none of that will be on by the time we make the 25 minute trip to the mall!!!

So why am I doing this again????!!! For the good deals at the mall, and a picture of my girls with Santa (which they will probably be screaming and crying). :)

Wish me Luck!!!

And remember Santa is fun and so are the good shopping deals, but that's not really what Christmas is about.

Jesus is the Reason for the Season!!!!

Going to see Santa tomorrow!!

Dec. 4th

So this morning started pretty much like every other morning except for I got woke up at 3 am. Now normally that would be no big deal because its not completely unusual for Harper or Teagan to wake up in the middle of the night, but this morning it wasn't because my kids were awake. No this morning I woke up at 3 am because my bedroom light turned on all by itself. Now the first time this happened I was a little freaked out but it's happened a couple times so I just woke up turned the light off and back to my normal sleep. Harper woke up at 5:30ish like usual, took a bottle and laid back down. Teagan woke up at 6:15 and Brandon got her milk, breakfast, and started watching Dora. 6:30 Brandon wakes me up, he's leaving so its out to the couch I go to watch Dora with Teagan. 7 am Teagan is watching out the window, talking about the horse and the calves......7:01 am I look out the window to realize that there is a calf on the shoulder of the highway. CRAP!!!!!!!!!!! Now its not a typical morning anymore at all. First I throw on my shoes, no socks, no coat, no mittens, nothing just my pj pants, sweatshirt and shoes. Out the door, into the barn to grab some feed, phone call to Brandon GET HOME NOW!!!!!!!!!!!

So luckily I was able to get the calf off the highway and on our side of the road, several cars driving by probably laughing at the little girl trying to chase a calf in pjs carrying a bucket. Let me tell you today is probably the coldest day its been since last January and with Pajama pants on I might as well have been naked, plus no socks under my shoes that have nice "air holes" in them so your feet don't get sweaty (No problem there, my feet did not get sweaty!!)

Finally Brandon arrives, I run inside check on the girls, throw up because I'm sick and colder than crap, and on with the socks, boots, hat, mittens, coat, and scarf, and back outside to help Brandon and our sweet neighbor lady that stopped to try and get the calf back in.

9 am I'm walking inside per Brandon's request to get the shot gun. 10 am Brandon calls and he's leaving to go meet a friend that has a rifle. (Now I know nothing about guns but evidently you can shot further with a rifle?? or get a better shot?? I don't know! but Anywho). Brandon Calls he has the rifle and he's on his way back. In the mean time Dallas shows up at our door (previous home owner) and he heard we were going to shoot the calf and was coming by to help try to get it back in. (His wife had seen my status on facebook).

Next thing I know its Brandon, Dallas, and Chad (a friend of Brandon's from work) outside hooking their trucks up to trailers to make a "wall" to block the calf in. Now of course Brandon's truck wouldn't start (Diesel + Cold weather+ old truck). So it was just Chad and Dallas's trucks hooked up to trailers that were in the machine shed. So out they went to the field to block the calf and round it up.

11:25 am its about lunch time so I throw some mini corn dogs in the oven for Teagan.

11:35 am Calf is in and Brandon is taking everyone to lunch at the golf course in Parkersburg.

Brandon was so nice to start my car so it would be nice and warm while I got the girls ready. Got the girls in and out the drive on to the highway and my car stopped working. (CRAP again, and I'm on the shoulder of the highway with Chad and Dallas behind us in their trucks!!) How embrassing :( Luckily I turned off my car, turned it back on, gave it some gas and we got to Parkersburg (but I better get that looked at).

Now were back to normal right??! Getting ready to order lunch, look down at the kids menu and see hot dogs (CRAP!!!) I left the oven on with the corn dogs in it, so I leave the girls and Brandon and the guys at the golf course drive the 3 miles south to turn off our oven.

SHORT SUMMARY FOR THE DAY: Calf out, Freezing my butt off, Shot Gun, Rifle, Truck didn't start, Car stopped working on the highway, left oven on at home. Wow thats plenty!! Hope for a better day tomorrow!!

Everyone Poops!! (Except us)

Everyone poops, Yes EVERYONE!! Whether you want to admit it or not sometime in the last day or 2 you have probably pooped or at least in the last week I hope.

Although with this being said I am amazed by the wide variety of patients I see. First you have those patients that want to tell you everything about their daily bowel movements, I mean everything from color, to amount, to exactly what time it happened, and then on the opposite side of the spectrum you have those patients that can't remember when the last time they pooped was. Was it yesterday, 2 days ago, 3 weeks ago, who knows??!! You would be amazed by the amount of patients I see come in with abdominal pain just full of poop. It happens all the time, and let me tell you it's always hard to tell someone that there is nothing really wrong with them they just need a laxative and they need to poop!! :) They must have forgot its a part of life and sometimes we need a little help pooping.

Anyways, that's not really the reason for my post but it is a good topic of conversation :) Especially among nurses at dinner time!

Whenever you buy an acreage it is Iowa's law that the septic tank be checked and up to code. We knew this going into the agreement that the previous owners would take care of the septic and boy am I glad!! It has turned in to quite the project!! First off yesterday when they started to dig the big hole for the new septic tank they clipped an outside water line...Yikes!! I think they got that fixed. Now they've got this large hole dug in our backyard with the new septic tank in just not hooked up. So what does that mean?? Well I'm told by the guy doing it to try to keep going to the bathroom to a minimum......he doesn't mind water in the hole just not "floaters" hahaha so I guess we can't poop and that was yesterday, and no return today! So I guess everyone poops.....Except us.

Well hope that gives everyone reading a good laugh for the day :) Pray we can poop soon!!

Here are a couple of pictures of the massive hole in our backyard and our new septic tank:

The dangers of a pacifier!!

Teagan never took a pacifier, she had her thumb and thats all she needed. Harper however will on occasion take a pacifier so we have a few around for her.

When you start to think of all the dangers in your household and choking hazards I have always thought about the steps, and the cleaning supplies, the medicine cabinet, the outlets, bumpers in your crib, etc.....

Never did I think a pacifier would a danger to my crawling 7 month old daughter Harper. A pacifier is made for babies right?? It should not be a choking hazard right?? Well guess what your wrong!! Harper managed to stuff the whole pacifier in her mouth plastic part and all and let me tell you her red, gagging, CHOKING face scared me!!!

Fortunately the pacifier is not small enough to get into her airway but I did have a little bit of trouble getting it out of her mouth. So yes she is ok, but now she can no longer have a pacifier without extremely close supervision!!

Only my child would choke on a pacifier made for babies!!

Sick of the H1N1

H1N1 its out there and its everywhere!!!

So I'm pretty sure my kids have been sick every week with something different since about oh September. Its getting really old and the season has just started. So what do you do?? Should we just lock ourselves in our house for the rest of the winter and don't go anywhere?? Should we all just quit working so we don't catch something for our co-workers?? I don't know what the answer is but I'm sure sick of all the media on the H1N1!!!!!!

As an ER nurse I see about 10 cases a day of H1N1 so yes I know its out there and I know that its really scary when you or your child has a temp of 104 but there is not much we can do about it at the doctors office or in the ER. Now some doctors are saying no to the Tamiflu and some are passing it out like candy to anyone who has a sniffle. So who's right and who's wrong??? I don't have the answer but somebody is wrong here.

I have never been much of a germ-a-phob and I don't carry around a shopping cover to put in the cart when I take Harper and Teagan to the store. But if your one of those moms more power to ya I just can't imagine having to carry around one more thing in my car!! Plus I kind of figure I'm building my kids immune systems :)

A few things I have tried to make more of an effort on is washing my hands and Teagan and Harper's hands more often. I'm not real good with the hand sanitizer but I do carry some in the bag and trying to use it more often.

My conclusion is H1N1 is the flu, its not fun, its scary, kids are dying, and it sucks!! However, its not the first time there has been a new disease, and eventually the media will find something else to talk about, and for now wash your hands and if your sick STAY HOME, push fluids, tylenol, and motrin and it too will soon pass!!

I pray that we don't get H1N1 here, and for everyone else to stay healthy too!!

I am starting to wonder when we decided that our kids need everything and anything they want. It is starting younger and younger that people think kids need the right clothes, the right games, the right vehicle to ride in, and the right house. I suppose every parent is trying to "keep up with the Jones". But I hate to break it to the "Jones" but I don't want to keep up with you!!! The Jones are the people who have to work 80 hours a week to pay for grocery's and the Jones are the ones that are getting phone calls at work to pay their bills, and the Jone's are the ones that have their house up for sale because other wise the bank is going to foreclose on their house.....That's just not me, I don't want to be the Jones.

I think a lot of times its the parents trying to keep up with other parents, and the kids don't even know whats going on. For example: Today Teagan has on a shirt that I got for a quarter and a pair of jeans I got for a dollar at a garage sale, and I have to say she still looks pretty darn cute and she is pretty happy. However she didn't take a nap today for me at all, so maybe she is upset about her outfit for $1.25 :) Now I am fully aware that when she gets in to school and there are other kids wearing brand new name brand clothes she might want the Gap jeans and the Nike shoes brand new but until then garage sale finds are GREAT!! Plus when she gets older she may have to learn the lesson money doesn't grow on trees and its ok to wear hand me down jeans :)

Ok so where is this blog going?? When we bought our house we were fully aware that we needed to remodel the upstairs and that we wanted to have the girls have their bedrooms up there. We have had a couple contractors come in to give us a bid and they have some good ideas. No bids yet but a few of them think we are crazy to think we can remodel the upstairs on our budget. When we start to talking to a few of them they want to change the whole lay out, each bedroom needs a large closet, and the bathroom needs to be in a good location, and they need more head room. (There are slants in the ceilings).

Whoa Whoa Whoa.....now for those of you that have been to my parents house my room consisted of a small closet a dresser and a twin size bed with little floor space and some crazy paint on the walls :) and for the most part I was pretty happy. And before that house I had to share yes SHARE a room with my sister!! (That's just crazy huh??!)

I also remember the stories my mom used to say about living in the old farm house, they would close the upstairs for the winter and sleep downstairs and I know there were a lot of families that did that "back then" (or maybe they just say that like how they used to have to walk to school 10 miles uphill both ways in the snow). So we live in an old farm house with poor insulation and maybe in the winter the girls might have to sleep in the living room, you make it work if that's all you can afford. I probably wont be making them walk the 3 miles to Parkersburg to go to school though so they should feel lucky :)

Yes I want our kids to have great memories of growing up and I hope they know how much they are loved, But I would much rather work less and spend as much time with them as possible than to have the fancy car and the fancy house with the fancy clothes. Being together is all we NEED!! I hope they realize that growing up but if not they will some day when they are 25 and have kids of their own.

Thanks Mom and Dad I know we had to ride in that embarrassing station wagon but I have some great memories of riding in the station wagon to go get a Christmas tree and spending time with my family!!

The contractor today said it was his job to show me the Cadillac of the remodel (The dream) and then we can go from there. I thought in my head: "Sir, you can show me the Cadillac, but do you see these two kids running around me screaming and wanting to be held?? We just need the cheap station wagon that gets us from A to B."

What a Day!!

Ok so we've been a little busy the last few weeks and I think we are losing it haha but no worries it should all settle down soon.

This morning I woke up in the hotel, it was our last night staying there and tonight we are officially staying in our new house!! But what a day, so I woke up and Brandon had already gone to work, I had to drop the girls off at daycare and be at a class for work at 8 am. When I woke up I realized Brandon had packed up and taken pretty much everything out of the hotel room and in his car, which is really nice he was just trying to help however he took the shampoo and conditioner, my tooth brush, hair brush, razor, and all the diapers except for 2. Now I realize that he is used to me not getting up everyday and getting ready but come on I need a few things!! :) I was rushing around like a chicken with my head cut off trying to get ready, luckily the hotel carries a few extra items for those forgetful travelers.......

Now its off to daycare and the first thing when I walk in the door is Harper's teacher asking if I knew what made Harper happy because they are having a hard time with her......hmmm what makes Harper happy, I said your guess is as good as mine!! Harper is actually a very Happy child when your spoiling her with attention and holding her, however at daycare they have to many kids to give her the attention Harper thinks she needs!! So I pray that she starts getting used to it.

Next its off to my class which I believe is at Covenant Hospital in Waterloo, I pull into the parking lot about 7:50 thinking yeah I'm on time!! I look at the sheet to see which conference room the class is located at and read Learning center on the south side of Allen Hospital.......CRAP!!! Allen is all the way across town on the north side of the river and I've never been there in my life, and I'm scared to death of that side of Waterloo......so I type it quick into my GPS and I'm on my way speeding through Waterloo (I mean of course I went the speed limit (I never speed)). I get to Allen and find that there is like 6 different entrances and of course the first entrance wasn't the right one, it was back into my car to the other parking lot and in to the class at 8:15.....grrr I hate being late for stuff like this!!! Luckily the instructor is a paramedic I work with at Sartori ER and she was very understanding.

So now on with the class, everything is going well until I corrected my Instructor for PALS (Pediatric Advance Life Support) ummm I don't think I would want her doing CPR on my child....luckily she doesn't work on the floor and she's just a manager (I don't think they get out of the office much) She was in charge of my station for practice of PALS and she was telling us something that was completely wrong and I tried to be nice correcting her but she didn't believe me and then I think she felt pretty stupid. Next they decided to cut lunch to 45 minutes instead of an hour....Which I would have been fine with but I needed to run over to daycare check on Harper and drop off some teething medicine (its worth a shot to calm her down). So I ran over to daycare, checked out of the hotel and back to class with no lunch :(

So you would think my day would end there but it didn't......I tried to call Brandon to see if he had the key to the house and if the spare key was left in the "secret hiding spot". He didn't call back until I was already 3/4 of the way to his office (which is out of the way). Then he tells me that yes the key is in the "hiding spot" so I thought ok good I wont stop by his office then and I will just head to the house.....do you think the key was there NOPE!! GRRR I would have probably cried except I found that one of the other doors was left unlocked.......YEAH!!

Well that was crazy enough for the day then the night went pretty smooth unpacking more boxes and our friends (the people that we bought the house from) brought over an amazing meal!!! Ahhh it was so nice to not have to cook, last night the neighbors across the street made us a really good meal too!!! Its such a nice community here and I am really excited to say we have a place to call home.

Ok a short blurp about the girls.....Teagan is talking more than ever and forming sentences!!! She got bit today at daycare :( and she screams every time I drop her off, it just kills me. She loves her new house and her friend Maleah :).

Harper continues to spit up daily and is now sitting up on her own and trying to crawl or something haha she gets to where she wants to go by getting up on her knees, digging her head into the ground and rolling :) I should really get that on camera!!! I think she thinks she's a worm.

I will post pictures of the new place soon, we are trying to get some of the boxes out of the way so I can take pictures :)

Our New Home

We officially bought our first acreage and we are moving in like 1 1/2 weeks!!! Luckily Brandon's job will be packing us and moving us so I don't have a whole lot to prepare. We were very blessed in finding this house and we made some great friends through the process. It started with facebook, while some may say that the internet is a bad thing in this case it was definitely a God thing. I made a connection through a friend of my sisters who lives in Cedar Falls, she knew the Wessels and that they were selling their acreage just south of Parkersburg. And so that's how it all began. The Wessels have 2 little girls that are around the same age as Teagan and Harper and we went to play with them on Monday when we made an offer on the house. I think the girls and us have made some great friends!!! We are very excited to get settled down and out of the hotel. Here is a picture of our new home.......

Sorry this is a short update but We have been super busy between starting new jobs, daycare, and living out of hotel. I hope things slow down soon!!!

Dear Lord please keep me sane!!

I am happy to report I got offered and accepted the job in the ER at Sartori Hospital in Cedar Falls. I am so excited about the job and look forward to learning a lot more about trauma. Unfortunately they want me to start Monday........So I have to cut our vacation short and I will be working next week. This is the main reason I haven't been able to update my blog recently. It has been a super stressful week.

First Daycare Drama........I have been looking all over for daycare, most of the people that I have gotten recommendations for don't have openings. I ended up going to meet one lady on Wednesday but it just wasn't going to work out. Since anyone can read this I wont go into complete detail of my decisions but one thing was kids aren't allowed on the couch or chairs....(so I sort of understand this, she just doesn't want kids falling) but then again Teagan is 20 months old, she climbs all the time. While I was sitting there listening to her tell me Teagan was trying to climb over the "gate" at her house and I was thinking about how just the other day she climbed up on the kitchen table, poured all of the salt out of the shaker and was playing in the salt. I didn't even stop her from being on top of the table covered in salt, it actually entertained her for a good 25 minutes and I got to get some things done. So anyways, we finally decided we are going to temporarily take them to a daycare center in Cedar Falls right next to the hotel we are staying in. Yep hotel its our new "home" for a little while.

Teagan is going to love it, she actually through a temper tantrum when we left the daycare center. The girls will be in separate classrooms and they have an actual schedule and curriculum for each day. I don't really like that they will be separate but they will have plenty of time at home together in the close living area of our hotel. Harper is starting to try and sit up and she smiles and laughs more everyday!! She loves to just watch Teagan play. Teagan is doing pretty good learning new words and signing "potty" a lot (but we still have daily accidents). Teagan is definitely Daddy's girl though and she misses him so much!!! She gets a little upset some days and I'm pretty sure she just misses her Daddy, so we call him and they have long conversations on the phone in Teagan's own little language.

Found a hotel to stay in this past week and we will be "moving" in on Monday. It's a suite so its got a bedroom and a living room which is now going to be a 2 bedrooms, the living room will have 2 pack n plays and several toys to entertain. I'm looking on the positive side here......Continental Breakfast (Hot and Cold)....which means that's breakfast I don't have to cook for 30 days!!!

Keep praying that they can get the home loan situation figured out so we can buy a house and have a place to live other than a hotel!!!

I am actually a little surprised by the strength I have had through this. I have come close many times to crying but I remember there is and end in site and God is looking out for us. Its not easy being home by myself with the girls while Brandon is already staying in the hotel. I also feel obligated to keep everything together and there is so much planning to do to move and start new jobs, daycare, housing. In our case we just don't have much TIME. Once I get through next week things should be much easier!!!!! haha I hope :)

Oh and just a reminder, you can be googled, anything you put out on the Internet can be found. Employer's look at different stuff such as facebook, myspace, and Twitter. I guess maybe in my situation it was a God thing that I found what I did.

Honey-Do List

Brandon started his job Monday, and he started living out of a hotel on Tuesday. This has left me alone with the girls during the week for the next month. On Monday night Brandon said he only has one goal for me for the week. I figured he was going to say finish the laundry, pack something, feed the chickens something a long those lines but nope I was wrong. My only goal for the week (according to Brandon) is to not strangle either of the girls. Tough goal but I think I can handle it.

The goal looks something like this for all of the nurses that read my blog:

Acute Psychosis

As stated by patient being stressed out by having both girls by herself during the week

Outcome: Not to strangle either child by the time husband comes home

Ongoing assessment: husband to make frequent phone calls to check on children

Evaluation: On going goal

Now I thought that goal would be simple but I have been challenged a couple of times already. The first time happened about 4 am this morning when Teagan decided to crawl into bed next to me since I am sleeping in their room on a twin mattress on the floor. She continued to toss, turn, kick me, and take up the majority of the bed. I was so frustrated because I knew I had to get up early to go to 2 interviews today and I didn't want to be exhausted.

The 2nd time happened about 6:44 am........my alarm was set to go off at 6:50 am and Harper decided that would be too long to sleep so she woke up at 6:44 am and not only that she was soaked head to toe in urine which means I had to wash her up and take her sheets off the bed and try to get her, Teagan, and myself ready for the day. I am glad she has decided to sleep through the night just wish that didn't mean soaked diapers.....(and I'm not about to wake her up in the middle of the night to change her.....so don't even suggest it!!)

The 3rd time just happened, we just got home from the sitters and my interviews went great!! However both girls were fussing at the same time and Teagan decided to eat a crayon or 2. Now what makes her think that its a good idea to eat a crayon???!!! Oh well

Both kids are still alive and healthy and keeping me busy for the week!! I will keep you updated on the progress of my goal!!

Update on Living

I can't get a house because I don't have a job, I don't have a job because I don't have a place to live, I don't have a place to live because I don't have any money, I don't have any money because I don't have a job!!!!!

Ok so maybe its not that bad but this is seriously how I feel right now....I just want to scream!!!

I haven't had time to update you on Brandon's job interviews but here it is BRANDON'S #1 BRANDON'S #1.......he had some tough competition and other COTS that really wanted Butler County but we prayed for a long time that he would get Butler County. After driving around the whole state of Iowa we decided we really liked the communities in Butler county and it would make a great place to settle down and call home. So actually here it is GOD's #1, GOD's #1, GOD's #1!!!

Brandon was offered the position of County Executive Director of Butler County which is a huge answer to our prayers. He was offered the job on Wednesday Aug 12th and he started the job today Monday Aug 17.....how bout that for short notice. So Thursday and Friday we started looking at houses and applying for a home loan....and thanks to all of our student loans this process has been EXTREMELY COMPLICATED!!

The other issue we have run into is that we would like to buy an acreage and the appraisers are pretty strict about not having any peeling paint....even on outbuildings.....so for fun this weekend take a drive out to the country and find as many acreages as you can that don't have an outbuilding with peeling paint. If you want a real challenge drive up to Butler County find an acreage where all the outbuildings and house are in perfect condition, the acreage is for sale, and it's priced under $150,000. (Let me know ASAP when you find it!!)

Ok so enough about that its too hard to explain and I am pretty sure by the end of next week it will all be worked out.

Oh Oh I can't forget to tell you all about this it was just too much fun house hunting on Friday. So I am pretty sure my Mom is the master of design to sell and I shouldn't compare other people's houses to my Mom's skills but one house in particular was just awful. For starters There were a pile of wet clothes sitting in the enterance into the house, 2 dogs running around barking in the front lawn, and a weight bench in the living room. It only gets better, the shower curtian had black mildew all over it, they had poorly placed new carpet which I guess was suppose to be the new "shag", and to top it off one of the bedrooms had a cat in it that pooped all over the floor!!! YUCK I felt like I needed to shower when we left and we still smelled miles down the road.

So I may let some of that slide, after all we had given them only a days notice that we were wanting to look at it, and they had only had their house on the market 6 days, and they had 4 other showings that day!!! When their realtor called to ask our realtor how we had liked the house the other realtor ended up hanging up on her.....that's great for business I'm sure.

Here is where we hope to call home with a squeaky windmill and all :)

On a positive note I had 2 interviews today. One at a hospital in Waterloo and one at a hospital in Waverly. They both went really well and I will keep you posted on any job offers/acceptance. The great thing about being a nurse is that there are always jobs, might not always like the jobs, but there are always jobs.

Another positive is that the house we really like is right in the middle between Allison and Parkersburg. We found a park over the weekend in Parkersburg that I absolutely love, oh I mean that Teagan just loves!! Teagan even made her first Parkersburg friend at the park Saturday.

Well that is all for now, I am told I need to relax and not stress out and maybe get some sleep. Night Night, Sleep Tight :)

Teagan and her new friend at the park :)

The Cool Park at Parkersburg!!! Love Love Love it!!

Hail Storm + Van+Driving on I-35 = EXTREMLY SCARY!!!!

I was so excited all last week thinking about heading up to Sac City on August 9th for my Grandma's 30th birthday party (yep she's 30.......;) All week I had been thinking about the fried chicken and potato salad. My mom was evidently thinking about the Angel food cake!!

Anyways that's why we were headed to Sac City, was to see my Grandma, Aunts, Uncles, Cousins and some good food.

My Mom and Dad and Sister had picked Brandon, Teagan, Harper, and I up at our house Sunday morning around 9 am. We headed down the road and realized we had forgot the camera. (we were only 1/2 mile down the gravel so we turned around) Then I told my Dad the best way to get to I-35 from our house instead of getting back on Hwy 30, we went through McCallsburg and Roland. Brandon and I had put an offer on a house in Roland about 3 years ago so we decided to drive by and see how it looked (We didn't get that house). It looked about the same and I don't think they ever did sell it. After that we were on are way. Alicia and Teagan were in the bucket seats of the Van playing games and reading books (Mccain Blog spot pg 1.)(Reference to Alicia's blog since I stole her line). We noticed it getting dark and decided to turn on the radio to check the weather but nothing was coming in. My Mom and Harper and I were sitting in the back and that's when the first piece of hail hit the van in the back. It was so loud we thought we hit something but didn't realize what it was until we just started getting pounded!!! I was so scared and grabbed a blanket and told Brandon to throw it over Teagan and I put the shade up on Harper's car seat. That's when I realized I was getting wet but I couldn't figure out where the water was coming from. Evidently a large piece of hail had hit the drivers side window and completely busted out the window. My Dad started to slow down but the hail just kept coming and the windshield was breaking more and more when he saw an overpass up ahead. We drove under the overpass and waited while more rain and hail continued to fall and the wind was blowing like crazy!! I called 911 because I didn't know whether we should get out of the car or what...We all thought we were in the middle of a tornado. Luckily we did not have to get out of the van and we made it out of the middle of the interstate before cars started flying by again once the storm had died down. We ended up driving about 10-15 minutes to get to Webster City to put plastic on the window, and get My Dad and Sister some new clothes because they were completely soaked. We still made it to Sac City....plastic window and all and I got to enjoy Fried chicken and Potato salad and seeing family. Just wish we didn't have to experience the "excitement" of the hail storm. I will never forget this day or think of storms the same.

Drivers Side window busted glass was all over!!

Dents on the drivers side of the van.

My Dad is pretty tough with a welt on the side of his face from getting hit by hail while driving!!

WE MADE IT TO SAC CITY!!! GREAT-GRANDMA HOLDING HARPER :)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

This was by far the scariest thing I have ever been through but even through it all I realized all the little stuff God did to take care of us so there were only minor injuries. Examples: Where the car seats were placed in the van, forgetting the camera and having to go back, stopping to look at the house in Roland. If our timing would have been different we may have been passed that overpass and not able to seek shelter, If Teagan's Car seat would have been on the drivers side she may have gotten hurt, or if we would have put Harper in one of the bucket seats it would have been more difficult to protect both girls. The other thing was we were planning on driving up ourselves but instead my parents decided to bring up their van. If we would have been in our little car with both girls in back things could have been really bad. I truly believe God was looking out for us!!!!!!!!!! AMEN!

My 5K and Old Settlers

We have had a busy weekend down in Maxwell, IA. Brandon's Mom grew up in Maxwell and so they go every year to Old Settlers weekend to celebrate the festivities. Recently I decided to start running and when Sharon said she was running in the 5 K I decided to join. (And when I mean recently I mean 2 weeks ago!!) We started to run/walk every night and have enjoyed getting out and exercising. We made it through the race under 40 minutes (which like I said we started training 2 weeks ago) We did the run/walk method and were pretty successful in keeping each other going. I ran with Brandon's aunt Sharon, her daughter Courtney, and Brenda (My mother-in-law). I think we all had a really good time and I hope to continue to run.

This is my before run face :)

Sprinting to the finish line....look at those long white legs!! haha

Friday night we went to Maxwell and enjoyed the rodeo with Kevin and Sharon, and Sharon's mom, and Courtney and Joe and the twins Ashlynn and Kennedy. I'm pretty sure I'm going to have 2 little girls that love the rodeo :) Maybe even a future barrel racer!!! 4 more years and they will start Mutton bustin!!!!! (I will keep you posted for their first rodeo performance :)

Cowgirl Harper (AKA Cowpoke) sitting with her Daddy!

Cowgirl Teagan (AKA Buck-a-roo) Watching the bull riders.

Flip Flop

I am starting to wonder if I will ever get a full nights rest again.

This week has been a fairly successful week as Harper has slept through the night the last 2 nights. This morning she woke up at 9:15 am, she slept a whole 11 hours!!! Now when she woke up she was completely soaked from head to toe in urine and needed a bath STAT. But hey we are on the right path to sleeping through the night. I did wake up about every hour to check on her too, I about had a heart attack yesterday when I woke up at 6:30 am and realized she hadn't been awake yet.

I would like to say I got to sleep a whole 11 hours last night too but that just isn't true. I got home from work at 11:30 last night and wasn't able to fall asleep right away, and just about the time my eyes were closed Teagan was screaming at the top of her lungs. My perfect sleeper has been waking up in the middle of the night 2 of the last 3 nights. I think maybe she is starting to have nightmares and then she wakes up and can't find her blankie and can't get back to sleep. I spent a good 2-3 hours trying to get her back to sleep, we even watched a movie and read books because she just would not settle down, and my back and shoulders are starting to hurt from trying to lay next to her bed.

So this is life, when you finally get one sleeping through the night, the other one starts to wake up. Oh the joys of having 2 kids!!

Prime example: Teagan is happily awake when she should be taking a nap while I'm writing this blog.

Harper is peacefully asleep next to the computer desk.

Pick your Battles

One thing I have learned over the last few years is to pick your battles. Some battles are worth fighting and some aren't going to matter tomorrow. This is particularly true with children so here is some examples:

1. Teagan takes her shoes off in the car.......EVERYTIME we get in the car the shoes come off. Which I think is crazy because she loves shoes! At first I tried to stop her.....I even bought shoes with laces thinking if I double knot them she couldn't get them off (But nope I was wrong!!). So its a battle I have decided I'm not going to fight any more. Not to mention I can't really say much because I take my shoes off in the car too....but I also know how to put mine back on.

2A. Teagan decided to Pee in my mixing bowl today and then while I was emptying it she pooped on the floor. Now this is a battle I've decided is probably worth fighting....."The potty training battle". (hey you got to give her credit at least she knows you pee in a bowl....she just chose the wrong bowl :)

2B. The toddler "Naked Stage" Teagan has now figured out how to take her diaper or underwear off so she loves to take them off and run naked....now this is a battle not worth fighting. I'm pretty sure every kid goes through it. However when we start pulling out the mixing bowl and peeing in it that's where issues come in.

3. The grocery store battle.....This is a battle that I conquered after a lot of trips to the grocery store. Teagan was having HUGE temper tantrums at the grocery store. She actually would have a fit when I would take stuff out of the cart to pay for it. So I decide I would take her every day until we stopped throwing tantrums this lasted about a week and I won!! Now I really work with her and let her help me put stuff on the counter and praise her when she's good at the store.

It was so embarrassing....my mom calls it pay backs.

4. The battle of Teagan's hair. If you ever see me out or look at pictures of Teagan and think why does her mother let her hair hang in her face this is why, some days its just not a battle I want to fight. It doesn't seem to bother Teagan any that her bangs hang in her eyes, but it does seem to bother her when I try to pull her hair back in to a pony tail or pig tails. She squirms and screams and then while yes the bangs are out of her eyes, it still looks messy. Some days I fight in this battle and some days I don't.

Ok this blog could go on forever with battles with Teagan but those are just a few. Now a 2nd child = new battles. They are 2 totally different kids its amazing!! So here are some examples of the current battles with Harper:

1. SLEEP, As you have seen in my earlier post Harper just does not sleep. I don't know why but she does not sleep for long periods. She sleeps perfect in my arms, but then when do I get to sleep, or get things done if she's sleeping in my arms. So here's the battle do I put her down knowing she's going to wake up or do I let her sleep???

Still working on this one!!!!!

2. CRY IT OUT method. While I do believe this probably isn't the best technique and if you google it you get some pretty strong opinions on how damaging it can be to your child's emotions. But then I remember that in the hospital they told me to never shake her......so sometimes I just have to set her down and let her cry. (No I would NEVER shake her) but Yes sometimes I need a break!! So if you think its wrong that I let her cry.......think of the alternative....(crying isn't so bad after all)

3. SPIT UP. This is a battle I've given up on!!! So when you see me with my soaked spit up shirt on and spit up on my shorts, just laugh with me :) Harper spits up......all the time.....that's just what she does. I put a burp cloth on me and she misses that and still spits up on my shirt, or you think its been an hour since that last bottle she's not going to spit up, Yep that's when she spits up on my shorts or wherever.

Two kids from the same parents=Two different personalities and two different issues. It amazes me how different they are. I love them both so much and can't imagine life without them or their battles.

Here are some new pictures from this past weeks adventures. We enjoyed hanging out with Great Uncle Kevin and Great Aunt Sharon at the campgrounds. The story county fair, and a picnic lunch on Brandon's day off.

Teagan enjoying her sandwich during our picinic on the Story County Fair grounds.

Harper and I laying in the camper hanging out at Saylorville with Kevin and Sharon.

MOMMY!!!! Teagan loved going to the campgrounds and running around playing chase :)

What does Brandon do??!!

This is the one question I hate to answer because it's confusing enough for me I can see why others are confused too. What does Brandon do?? Where does he work?? Where are you moving?? Why are you moving?? Ok maybe that's more than one question but its all related so here's my explanation with a little bit of news.

For the last 10 months Brandon has been training as a COT (County Operations Trainee) I believe that's the right name. This is a group of Trainee's that will soon be County Executive Directors (CED) for the Farm Service Agency which is a part of the USDA. All of the trainee's have now taken their test and passed so its time for interviews to start. In Brandon's group there are 10 of them and they start the interview process at Butler County.....All 10 will interview in Butler and then Butler selects who they want then next the 9 trainee's left interview in Monona County then Monona County gets to pick who they want, and then the 8 left go to East Pottawatame and so on and so on. All of the counties are here in Iowa. We do not know yet where Brandon will be placed but we know the possibilities and the order so here ya go

1.Butler County (Allison, IA (Waverly area)

2. Monona County (Onawa, IA (South of Souix Center)

3. East Pottawatamee (Oakland, IA( South of Omaha)

4. Freemont (Sidney, IA (AKA: Rodeo Town USA, Southwest corner of Iowa)

5. Fayette (West Union, IA (North East Corner)

6. Worth (Straight North on I-35 almost to Minnesota)

7,8,9, 10: To be announced]

Brandon starts interviews the week of Aug 10th, so hopefully sometime in the next month we will know where we are moving to. We know that God has a plan for our lives and knows where we need to be. Everything has been in God's time and his planning. One thing in particular we were very blessed to sell our house last spring.

Brandon is currently working out of the Marshall county office and is still considered a COT until he gets placed in his own office. Now for the answer to what he does.....haha I don't really know. For those of you that know my Dad, he will have the same position that my Dad has in Jasper County. But my Dad has had the same job for the last 25 years of my life and I still can't explain what he does. Something to do with Farmers and Farm Programs for the Federal Government, USDA. They kind of oversee and run the county office.

So I hope that answers a few questions and we will keep you posted with each interview.

Not Me Monday

Ok This is my first attempt at a Not Me Monday...so bare with me a couple Monday's :)
Last Monday I did not take both Teagan and Harper to Harper's 4 month appointment and try to keep control of 2 kids under 2. Not me I would have got a sitter for Teagan so that the nurses didn't have to put up with both my children. And I wouldn't want Teagan to have to see her poor baby sister get shots, I mean I do work at the clinic and I know how EXTREMELY annoying it is when people bring in multiple children to appointments, so I would never do that, nope not me!

Then after Harper's Doctor appointment I would not have dropped both her and Teagan off at the sitters, Nope that would be cruel to send a child to the sitters that just had 4 shots in her leg, what if she gets fussy.

Last Wednesday I did not stop by Wal Mart after work and buy Teagan diapers. Nope Not me after all I said I wasn't going to buy her anymore disposable diapers. Why would I buy her diapers, I mean she's 18 months old and she potty's on the big girl potty, and I have cloth diapers that I can use, so Nope not Me I did not buy her diapers. And if I would buy her diapers I wouldn't stop at Wal Mart because it is more convenient because I hate going in that store.

I could easily wash cloth diapers because I'm not behind on laundry, Nope Not Me.

Thursday I did not miss my horse lesson because I didn't realize until 9 pm that day that it was even Thursday, So glad I know what day of the week it is.

And No I did not miss church on Sunday because I had to start writing a paper that was due that night for my class. I would never wait til the last day to write a paper that I have known about for 3 weeks, So glad I did not procrastinate til the last minute!!

Finally I am so glad that I wasn't anxious all week thinking about what to write for my first Not Me Monday. I didn't think about it at all after I read my first Not Me Monday on a couple of other Mom blogs. I obviously have more important things to do then think about blogging.