Do other 2 year olds do this?

Set up a picnic?

....on both sides of the dining room. Forks have to be in the right spot, on top of the plate!

I walked into the kitchen to find this masterpiece!

and little people just sitting there watching.

.......because who doesn't line up their diapers?!

and then line up the rings on the floor.

Who me?

PG

Since the 30 day challenge I've been slacking on putting updated pictures of P on here. I'm sure you all have missed it!
She loves blowing bubbles!
The hair is getting a little out of control again. We have gone from the mullet to the 70's Farrah Fawcett feathered hair and today with the wee-bit of humidity we had....the curls exploded.

P really wanted to wear my boots, but she wasn't able to stand up in them.

Steve is so proud to have a rocker in the family!

She is really wanting to go potty. However, she mainly just wants to walk around with no pants or diaper on. Not cool. Steve is really not happy about Presley new love for being naked. I actually bought some Pull-Ups this weekend, in case she was interested in going that route. Pretty much she'd rather not have anything on from the waist down. And I was almost in tears buying Pull-Ups for my baby. Probably the only mother wanting to cry in the diaper aisle. :)

Roller coaster ride

So Wednesday night was the Country Spring Break Bash....I procrastinated and never bought a ticket even though some of my friends were going...and it sold out a week before the show. My friends were going to meet up to have a few beers before the concert so I thought I would meet them. Turns out Andrea got sick, didn't feel good and couldn't go! Bummer....but on the flip side, it totally worked out for me! So I ended up going! It was a fun, unexpected night out!

Today, St. Patty's day. We worked. :( We have always taken this day off from work and gone out. It just didn't work out this year. I was able to take my hour lunch and walk down to watch the St. Patty's day parade, which was awesome for 2 reasons! Holly was in the parade for being the Bacon Queen of Baconfest and there was a tribute float for Brendan! It was a rough day thinking about Mahoney in his Irish hat. Bitter sweet. I wanted it to be a celebration, but it just wasn't the same.

Tomorrow we have our first non-family babysitter (even though she really is like family!). Andrea agreed to watch Presley for us while we go out! However, now Presley has a cold and I'm not sure we should expose her germs. Plus Steve isn't feeling the best either. We'll see how our Friday turns out!

30DBC day 30 - your favorite song

Really? This is the last challenge? This is terrible! There is no possible way, ever, I could every choose my favorite song. Never. Wouldn't happen, couldn't happen.
Sorry.

30DBC day 29 - in the last 30 days, what have you learned

I have learned that I have a lot of wonderful people and things in my life. I am extremely lucky to be so blessed!
I learned that even my every day priorities are Presley and Steve, there are so many other people in my life that I can count on to always be there for me. No matter what.
I learned no matter how annoyed or crappy things can get....in the scope of things, it's not really that bad! Every challenge we encounter in life, only makes us stronger.

Since my 30th birthday, I've always said that 'life begins at 30, everything before that is just practice'! At that time I said that to make myself feel better (and b/c I actually gave birth the day after), but I really do think at 30 years old, everything starts to come together and make sense!

30DBC day 28 - a picture of you last year and now, how have you changed

This is P and I from last July. (my eyes are not blue, not sure why they look that way in this picture)
Me on our cruise leaving Miami.

Two changes that I'm pretty happy about....1) My haircut! I've had the same haircut for over 10 years and I love the new cut so much better than before! 2) I was able to lose 10 pounds at the end of 2010! Never thought it would be possible for me to be in my pre-maternity pants but I did it! (maybe I should mention that I've gained about 4 of those pounds back, but oh well!)

Two good things that didn't change in the last year....no cavities (I've only had one in my life) and no skin cancer! Now let's hope we can keep these two things going year after year! :)

Another Sunday

We had a pretty nice week and weekend. I was able to go to dinner with Holly, Cindy and April on Wednesday night just to catch up and chat since it has been too long! and then Friday night I went out after work with Holly and my work friends, Sarah and Nicole. We went to Saints in Beaverdale...wow, talk about a highschool reunion! That is where a lot of Hoover alumni like to hang out! (On a side note, congrats Hoover Huskies for making it to the 4a championship basketball game! We are so proud!)
Saturday we did a lot of nothing and Steve had his night out on the town while Presley and I hung out. Sunday we were able to do more of nothing (which I'm sure I'll regret by tomorrow night when I have too many things to do!). I got free Iowa Energy tickets from work so the three of us went to the game this afternoon. It was actually a lot of fun and Presley did pretty good and seemed to enjoy it too.
Back to the grind with another week of work. Should be a busy week with spring break, St Pattys' day and the NCAA tournament starting! Spring is in the air! :)

30DBC day 27 - why are you doing this 30 day challenge

I thought it would be something different, something hopefully interesting to someone. Hopefully someone has learned something about me and I have learned something about myself! :)

30DBC day 26 - what do you think about your friends

I LOVE THEM ALL!
Whether I have known you 30 years or 6 months, it doesn't matter! Whether I see you once a week or once a year, it doesn't matter! So many memories and laughs with all of my friends, I love you all! Thank you for always being there for me!

30DBC day 25 - what would I find in your bag

Steve always gives me a hard time with how big my purse is and how much I have in it!
I have the normal stuff: wallet, gum, pen, checkbook, pocket calendar and sunglasses. But then I have the 'other' stuff: mini purse with all my crap (sunblock, lotion, bandaids, tampons, extra ponytail holder), the 2011 Entertainment coupon book, the case with my regular glasses and contacts, and a large bottle of Excedrin Migraine.

30DBC day 24 - your last 5 facebook status'

1) ...thinks we should all get a spring break
2) Happy Ash Wednesday! I won't be going to church and I'll probably be eating meat. Shame on me!
3) the girl loves peanut butter and dorito sandwiches almost as much as mom and dad!
4) 'If I Were A Boy' was a terrible song the first time around....there was no need to make it into a country song too!
5) Obviously not happy to be at Home Depot. Fun.

30DBC day 23 - something you crave a lot

I don't want to go on and on about food, but I guess I have to! :)
- CARBS - bread, pasta, mashed potatoes, french fries...I love them all.
- SWEETS - a bad habit that I've learned to control for the most part. I don't eat the Little Debbie snack cakes that Steve has in the cabinet, but I do always feel the need to eat something sweet after dinner. It could be a York peppermint patty (or 3) or a bowl of ice cream, doesn't matter.

30DBC day 22 - what makes you different from everyone else

Yikes, from EVERYONE else? That is kind of broad, isn't it? I really have no idea.
The only small thing I can think of that makes me different from my family....I'm the only one that graduated college out of the 5 of us. That's really all I got!
This is probably the hardest challenge! Yuck, can we pretend this one never happened?

Weekend getaway - Saturday

Saturday we headed to the Megamall! We got there nice and early to walk around and visit their new aquarium! The old Camp Snoopy has been changed and updated to Nickelodean Adventures, pimped out with Dora, Sponge Bob and Blue Clues...Presley is really not impressed by any of these characters.
The aquarium was great! It was nice and big, not too crowded but so cool to see all of these fish swimming right over you! It was similar to the Omaha zoo aquarium, but much bigger (and more expensive!).

We did some shopping, giving Presley as many cheerios as she wanted to keep her happy and occupied. We let her get out and walk around occasionally but again she resorted to only wanting to be carried.

Legoland! Amazing what you can do with Legos (and patience).

Overall we had a good weekend. Got some shopping in, got home about 7 pm on Saturday night and then had all day Sunday to recover and do our normal weekend stuff! It was nice to get away as a family even if only for one night!

Sunday Steve's brother came over to help finish the drywall in the basement! We are getting so close! After years of slowly working on the basement, there is an end in sight!

Weekend getaway - Friday

So we took our annual trip to the Mall of America this weekend. We left Friday afternoon, so P would sleep on the way up there!
The drive was pleasantly uneventful (unlike last year when Steve got a speeding ticket before getting out of town!). We did see a cop with his gun drawn and two 'suspects' on their knees on the ground on the side of the interstate. Shortly after, two other cop cars were speeding in the direction of the incident! Too bad we'll never know what was going on!
We went straight to IKEA to do some shopping and looking around. Bought a couple things. P was good for the most part. She is at a terrible stage of not wanting to ride in her stroller/cart or walk. She wants to be carried and that just can't happen with a 30 pound kid.
Our hotel had an Outback Steakhouse attached, which made is nice and convenient.
And then we were able to go swimming! The pool was nice and warm and there was no one else in it. Isn't she cute in her swim suit (thanks Murphy's!), she thought she was so cute! (and she was)

Random

1) My hair straightner has 2 warnings listed on it. 1) This product will burn eyes. 2) In Canada, not for household use.
I'm confused about both of them. Won't this product burn any part of my body? and are straightening irons not allowed in Canada? Weird.

2) People who spell their kids names differently than normal (and I hope no one takes offense to this) confuse me. I understand wanting to be different (I named my kid Presley!). But sometimes when you change the spelling of a name, it doesn't make you different it makes you look like you don't know how to spell. There is no need to spell Jessica, as Jessyca.

3) A girl I work with, we'll call her Lily (even though she is nothing like a Lily) is going to Florida in a few weeks, so she is tanning. (whatever, I'm not going to start on my issue with that) Here is how the stupid conversation went....

Lily: did you tan before your cruise?

Me: we spray tanned but nothing else.

Lily: how did you not get sunburned? - (Really? This is a college educated, smart, adult woman)

Me: sunscreen.

Lily: but you were in the sun all day!?

Me: well, you put it on more than once! (and she looked at me like I was the moron!)

Lily: oh yeah, well I don't do that. That's probably why I burn! (laughing, like it's funny)

Please tell me people are not this dumb.

5) Steve and I are having a battle of the toe nail clippers. Over 2 weeks ago he used them and then left them on the bathroom counter...and there they have stayed.....and there they will stay until he puts them away.
My mom said when I was little she used to take away the toys that I refused to pick up. Do I pull this trick on a 31 year old? HAHA!

30DBC day 21 - a picture of something that makes you happy

Well I thought about using the obvious on this one with Presley but that has to be getting old. Right? :)

So here are the first 4 things that entered my mind.
1) Reading! I wish I had more time to read. Sitting in a chair on the deck during the summer reading a book is just so relaxing!
2) Donuts! Yes, food makes me happy, don't judge. Mainly jelly filled donuts with chocolate icing from Hy-vee. They are the best, anyone who wants to make me happy should bring me donuts!

3) Summer. Oh summer. The sun, the green grass, the water. A clear, blue sky just calling us to have a picnic or something. It gets me off the couch and out of the house! Please come soon, we miss you!

4) Chocolate and cheesecake! I mean really, could there be a more perfect combination? Doubt it.

30DBC day 20 - someone you love

Is it weird that this challenge has been hard for me? Mainly b/c I don't know how to choose! How do I pick one person in my life to write out and how I love them without feeling that I'm leaving everyone else out?
I could pick the obvious in Presley or Steve, but then I feel like I'm not giving credit where credit is due with my parents and sisters who have always been there for me.....but then what about my extended family and friends over the years who have helped mold me into the person I am today. I just can't choose. Sorry.
Maybe I'm blessed to have so many people in my life to love? So I won't complain.

30DBC day 19 - nicknames you have and why you have them

- Jessi - mostly my sisters call me this and occasionally Steve does too
- Jess - my friend Lisa started calling me this at work about 7 years ago...and now most of the people work with now call me Jess...so she officially started it!
- JMO - Steve used to call me this before we got married (kinda like Jennifer Lopez being JLo)
- JGood - just a couple people at work call me this since my 'user name' on our system at work is JGood
- Bitch - does this count as a nickname? I think my sisters, husband and mother have all occasionally called me this! haha! It's all in good fun though!

30DBC day 18 - plans/dreams/goals you have

This is for Friday's challenge, but I won't have time to post it tomorrow so I'm getting a head start!

I'm glad there is no timeline listed on this. So these are in no particular order and no limited time frame!

1) have child #2
2) take our kids to Disney World
3) payoff my student loans (only 5 years left)
4) visit Graceland
5) road trip to the east coast in the fall
6) payoff both of our cars (2.5 years left on one, 4 years on the other! ha!)
7) swim with dolphins
8) travel to San Francisco, San Diego and Los Angeles
9) go skiing in Colorado (we have some trips to plan!)
10) raise happy, healthy children
11) watch my sisters get married
12) take a hot yoga class
13) run another 5k (it's been 3 years)
14) sing karaoke by myself (yikes)
15) flip a house

I think these are big enough plans/dreams/goals to have for now! :)

30DBC day 17 - someone you would want to switch lives with for one day and why

ummm.....maybe the mom from 19 Kids and Counting. That woman has more patience then I'm sure I will ever have in my entire life. Maybe having one day with 19 kids will make me realize that having child #2 won't be so bad after all! :)

New camera!

I've always wanted a real, nice camera but of course, money isn't always available to just go spend on another camera when we have a good digital camera already. Steve did a lot of research about our new Canon camera. So after our tax return and a nice, surprise bonus at work we decided to breakdown and buy one. Lord knows we take enough pictures so we should totally get our monies worth.
Here are some of our new pictures!
"Look mom, there is an egg in here!"

Oops!

Determined to get her baby clean too!

30DBC day 16 - another picture of yourself

Our wedding day I was actually sorta photogenic....first time in my life....

well excluding this wonderful picture! LOL!
By far, one of my favorite pictures of myself. Not very often does it actually happen that I like a picture of myself (most of them look like the one above!)