Washi what?!

washi tape {masking tape made from washi paper} Japan

1: Masking tape is a type of pressure sensitive tape made of a thin and easy-to-tear paper, and an easily released pressure sensitive adhesive  2: Washi comes from wa meaning Japanese and shi meaning paper, and the term is used to describe paper made by hand in the traditional manner.

If you follow the scrapbooking scene then you know what washi tape is.  If you frequent the stores you have seen it labelled as Trendy Tape.

Whatever you call it and wherever you buy it, it's all the same.  CUTE!

Some inspiring projects

covered light switches

cover vases, candles, etc

Use on scrapbook pages

Kari found a store on Etsy that sells this otherwise expensive new trend for CHEAP!

This lady sells Washi Tape in small amounts for just a few dollars.

This stuff is sooooo cute!

Can't wait....

Adventures in Scrapbooking

A few weeks back I heard about the National Scrapbooking Day Crop to be held at Archivers on May 5th.

12 hours of cropping with hourly drawings and a total of 5 scrapbook pages would be made during this 12 hour period.  I really wanted to go!

I asked Tammy and Karri (my typical go to girls) and asked my sister Jennie (my other go to girl) to see if she would be willing/able to watch the girls if I decided to go.  Jennie and Judy were both busy and neither Tammy or Karri could make it.  Bummer, maybe next time.

Last night Brian asked what time I was going to leave in the morning.  Hmmmm.....leave for what?  "Scrapbooking.  I was planning on watching the girls while you were gone all day.  You still planning on doing that?"

Since I couldn't find anyone to go with me and since I didn't have an extra set of hands to help with the girls (NOT that he needs it or expects it -but I get it, it's nice to have alone time) I figured that I would just pass but hearing that Brian was ok with it, things changed.

I decided to go alone.

Not gonna lie.  Made me a little nervous but let me tell you.....it was FABULOUS!

Altogether I completed 16 pages!  Here is a sample of some of the pages that I was able to complete.

For Hannah's book

Made two of these, one for each girl

Hannah's book

Hailey's first year- October

Hailey's first year- October

Hannah's book

Hailey's first year- July

Hailey's book

Hailey's book

Hailey's book

Hannah's book

Hannah's book

That won't be the last time I scrapbook alone.

To my fellow scrapbooking peeps- don't take that the wrong way!!!  I will always be game for scrappin' with you however our schedules don't always match and now I know that I will be ok without you :-)

Purposeful or Casuality

Tonight was Troy's birthday. (Happy Birthday Troy)

A few days ago I got a text from Gretchen asking if we wanted to meet them at the new Pizza Ranch by our house and then hang out afterwards.

Gretchen was planning on getting Troy a DQ cake but I decided to make brownies so we would have another snack.

When we got home from dinner, the girls were playing and decided that they needed to have a snack.

Hannah asked if she could be the one to cut the brownies for them- they were going to have a snack-picnic on the floor of the living room.

When Gretchen grabbed the pan to cut herself a brownie we found it like this.

Hmmmm....do you think they meant to aim for the middle pieces or was this the causality of a 4 year old with a knife.

15 years and still going strong

This year I will celebrate my 15th year at HealthEast.

Tonight was the 25th annual Employee Recognition dinner.

Every employee celebrating 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, and 50 years of employment was invited.

There were close to 700 employees invited- 300 showed up.

The employees celebrating 10 and 15 years were recognized as our names scrolled across the screen.

Employees at 20 and 25 years had their names announced and displayed a picture.

30+ years and there was a video made for each of these employees.

For 36 minutes we watched story after story of how careers were started and how employees choose to stay here.  It was very touching.

It reminded me (once again)  why I stay.

It reminds me that I work with and support people that change people's lives.

Hard to believe it's been 15 years already.

If only

Have you ever had sat down and thought about what the future will be like?

Technology has come so far that it is hard for me to imagine what types of gadgets or things our children will grow up with and what things will our grandkids have that we seem 'really old' because we just don't 'get it'.

Today while at Davanni's I got to experience this.

It is a self serve beverage dispenser.

You first start with a 'base' (Coca Cola, Diet Coke, Sprite, etc).

Then you are presented with flavor options: raspberry, vanilla, lime, orange, cherry, etc.

This tiny little machine probably contained well over 100 different beverage options .

GENIUS!

Just another night out

They should sell a box of just purple and blue ones.

Obviously the girls favorite choices.

Here are a few ADORABLE pictures taken tonight with Instagram.

That girl better watch her back.....I just might take a bite when she isn't looking.

Road Trip!

When you are going on a road trip there are certain things that you need to do to prepare.

First- you need to be sure that you have your sunglasses, cameras and coats.  Also assure that the babies are securely buckled in and freshly changed.

The girls took their usual spots in the car.

Hannah to drive and Hailey to give directions.

They spent about an hour driving around the yard- talking the whole way.

Hannah even let Hailey drive a few laps.

I had the pleasure of being 'Jackie'.  The girls would drop their girls off and then take a few more laps.

I went into the house and when I came back out I saw that the girls decided they needed to take pictures of their babies in tree like they do when they go to grandma's.

HA!

The Family Stooges

Jennie had a great idea for Bob's Birthday!  Since he loves The Three Stooges and since there is actually a Three Stooges movie in the theater it made PERFECT sense to take Bob out to celebrate his birthday.
It took us a while to get everyone scheduled but finally the day was here.

Yep- that's us.  Almost a full row full.

Hannah didn't really 'get' what the movie was all about and the first few times the guys were eye poking and over-the-head-hammer hitting she flinched and had a look of complete horror in her face.

When she heard the theater (and there were more people- just not at the time of the pic) roar in laughter she looked around to make sure it was ok and then eventually joined in.

Bob really enjoyed the movie- he laughed and he cried.

When the movie was over we asked him if he had fun..."Yep, too much." (as tears filled his eyes)

Glad you had a good time Bob-O

^gulp^

For the record- I was ahead until she pulled this out.

I should at least get credit for the set up....

My space is your space

I wanted to put my sunglasses away this morning when I got to work but quickly saw that that space has already been claimed.

Boot Me

Have you hear me talking about how I desperately need a new pair of boots?!

YIKES!

Check these two pairs out.

The heel of the top one lost it's rubber piece and these boots had to be retired this winter when I finally got sick of rocking back and forth on them.

I resorted to an older pair that I had in the closet and today while walking through the hall at work I realized that there was a very hollow noise coming from my foot.  When in the world did this happen?!  

Oh man.....I REALLY need a pair of new boots.

Hailey's new lungs

Hailey has been sick off and on for the past few weeks.

It's mostly been a cold and cough.

She had a lot of rough nights where the cough would keep her up and last night it was so bad that I almost packed up and brought her to the ER around 1:30.

I decided to wait it out until morning and decided to take the day off to get her checked out.

When she woke up this morning (after her two hours of sleep) she seemed better- breathing was a little bit slower and she didn't seem to be struggling so much- but each time she would cough she would start whimpering and crying.

My heart was officially broken.

We went to see Dr Kelly today and within a few minutes he confirmed that she was wheezing on both sides and would need nebulizer treatments every 4-6 hours for the next few days.

After her appointment I asked her if she wanted to go and have lunch at McDonalds.

"No, Wendy's!   pause   with me daddy!"

Brian was able to sneak away for lunch and Hailey was SUPER excited to see him when he pulled into the parking lot.

She did great with her treatments!

Hope she kicks this thing soon.....

Gobble Gobble

Our neighbor, Steve, went turkey hunting today.

When I got home from work the girls were super excited to show me this guy.

Hannah was brave enough to touch him but Hailey was fine just standing by and checking him out from afar.

Not gonna lie, it kinda freaked me out a little bit.

I knew he was dead but I kept expecting him to start chasing me.

P.S.  He didn't

Woody the Woodpecker, but much more annoying

As we are leaving the house today we heard this little dude out on the light pole.

We stopped at the end of the driveway so the girls could listen for a few minutes.

Hailey yelled out to him but he was too busy pecking for bugs.  Hannah was too busy talking about how cute he is to notice that he causes a lot of stress for daddy when he is pecking away at the house.

Party Time

Come out to find this taped to the wall.

Brian asks Hannah- What is that?

Hannah replies with "It's a party streamer!  It makes the house look beautiful!"

Hey Mom

What do you get when you mix little girls that like loud music and love to talk?

A lot of action with this guy.

"Mom!  Turn it up!"

turn the radio up

"Mom, I need to tell you something."  

turn the radio down

"I love this song."

"Mom, Turn it up but start it over again so I can hear the beginning."

start the song over and turn it back up

"Mom, who sings this again?  I want this on my radio in my room."

turn the radio down

"Turn it up but start it over again."

start the song over and turn it back up

And again, and again and again

I love how into music these girls are but sometimes I would appreciate if they could just stop talking for 3 minutes so we could listen to a full song.

Welcome home Mommy

Hannah: "Mommy, I love you and Dankie the most!"

Me:  "Me and Dankie the most?!  I am your favorite though right?!"
Hannah:  "No.  I love you both the same."

Me:  "What?!  Well, that doesn't make me so happy.  I don't want you to love me the same as Dankie."

Hannah:  "Well, I could love you this much less than Dankie." (as she shows me how much less with her fingers)

Me: "Hailey, who is your sister?"

Hailey: "Hannah"

Me:  "Who is Nash?"
Hailey: "Me doggie."

Me: "Who is your mommy?"

Hailey: "Amy"

Me:  "Who is Daddy?"
Hailey: "Me Best Friend!"

Knowing how much these two love Daddy and Dankie I guess I will take it!

Conference Day 1- It was Magical!

Today was the first day of the conference.

I gave a presentation on HMP- a success story for how to improve quality numbers using the module.

I hate public speaking but it seemed to go over ok.  People appeared engaged and throughout the rest of the time there people were approaching me asking additional questions.  Allscripts even approached and asked if I would present at ACE (the national user group conference in the fall).

The evening entertainment was a magician Dan Sperry.

His tag line- 'Magic no longer sucks'

This guy was AWESOME!

Well, that was until he pulled me up on stage with him.....

He was getting me prepared for a voodoo ceremony.

Here he had placed large needles in my arms.

It was a magic themed night....don't judge the headband.

Pictures with the CRUG board and Dan.

Christine, Michelle, me, Tom, Rochelle, Dan, and Diana

Jessica, me, Loriann, and Molly (who spells her name like Molly on Mike and Molly as Hannah would say)

IOWA or BUST

Today Loriann, Jessica, Molly and I are heading to Des Moines for the 4th Annual CRUG (Central Region User Group) Spring Forum.

We arrived in the early afternoon. We ate lunch and then got to work.

The girls started by stuffing bags- a cup, notebook, pen, laynard, folder and brochure.

The Sheraton will be our home for the next two and a half days.  

Yet another sign 'o the times

Three little iPads all in a row.....

Brian snapped this picture as the girls and I were hanging out on the couch tonight.

Check out Hannah's monkey toes...

Nobody ever said it was easy

My 2nd blog book has arrived!

It was Lindsay's Birthday party this evening- can you believe she is 10?!

I brought my new book to show Stacey and Joyce.

There were a few others there that got interested in the book and sat down to page through it.

"Whoa- you have a lot of time on your hands...."

Not really sure why but that comment kinda made me upset....

I know they didn't mean anything by it and by no means meant to be rude but it bothered me.

First of all, no.  I don't have a lot of time on my hands.

Yes. This takes time but it also isn't something that takes hours and hours.

It could be a few minutes a day or 30 minutes to 'catch up'.  I never really get that far behind that it takes me days to catch up.  Even if it did- it's worth it.

Secondly, sometimes I don't have time and sometimes those few minutes take days to find but the point is, I make the time.  I make time to assure that I leave something behind.  To assure that my children knew how important they are and what amazing little people they were.

These books are the COOLEST!  The 2010 book (black) is about 193 pages and was around $87.  The 2011 book (pink) is around 298 pages and was $121.  I thought twice about posting the price of the books but then thought that might be interesting someday.  Both books are hard cover with color pictures inside.

The 'making of the book' is extremely easy- go online, put in your details, preview and order.  5-7 days later the book is at your doorstep.

Big Girl Undies Step 2

Now that Hailey is almost a week into wearing big girl undies she is starting to act more and more independent.  She insists on dressing herself.

Today it was a tank top- size 12-18 months and shorts size 12-18 months, flip flops and a headband.

The best par is that she put one leg through the waist and the other through one leg so her waist was actually in one of the legs.  They looked like undies themselves but she was REAL proud of her choice in outfit.

It was a little cold in the basement today but she didn't seem to mind. I tried to help her get her pants on the right way but she wouldn't let me get near her to help her out so I left her.  She'll be pretty mad when I make her change when she wants to play outside but we will deal with that when that time comes. 

Big Girl Undies!

It's been 5 days!

Monday we put big girl undies on Hailey.  Since then she has been diaper and pull-up free!

She has had two accidents- one day when I picked her up from daycare (which has always been her weak-time) and then one night while we were playing outside (that one didn't make sense).

I am so proud of my little baby big girl! 

She is pretty proud of herself too.  The other day when I got home from work she came running to the door- "Close eyes!"  I closed my eyes.  "Big girl unnies!  Open eyes." 

We actually went out to dinner tonight leaving her in her undies- and she stayed dry!

Good job little buddy! 

Bob-O

Today is Uncle Bob's Birthday.

I was thinking about how unfair we all are sometimes.

Spend an afternoon with my family and you will hear people nagging him, telling him what to do, and complaining about what he's not doing that we think he should be doing.

"Why are you wearing that?  Why did you do that?  Why don't you get up and do ____? Go help ___ do _____. "  You get the picture.

The truth is, Bob does a lot for us that he doesn't get credit for.

Sure, I could talk about all of the times that he has fixed things but I am talking about something more important than that.

For me, Bob gives me comfort.  Knowing that he is with my grandma keeping her company and watching over her is very comforting.  Knowing that he is with her at all times makes me worry less about her.  If she were to fall, get sick or need something, he is there.

All those weekend trips to the cabin she has company.  Their relationship is pretty special and it's pretty rude of any of us to walk into their 'system' and try to change it.  Grandma doesn't complain at all about how much he does and actually talks about how much he helps her and you know, she's right.  He gives her so much more than any of us do.

He might not clean up after the dog or jump off the couch to help do the dishes but when we all leave he has the most important job at all.

Thanks for always being there Bob!  Keep up the good work!

Happy Birthday to you- 62 years young!

HA!

Someone sent this to me saying they thought of me when they read it.

It makes me giggle because it is so true!