4 years in the making

We've been in our house for a little over 5 years. About 4 years ago we (in which I really mean Steve) started framing the basement (one of the 3 rooms in the basement).....then life happened (you know, we got married and had a baby and everything else). Then last summer this is what we woke up to in the middle of the night.

Our basement, slowing filling with water.

Which resulted in over a foot of water in our 1400 sq foot basement. A mess and a lot more work, but left us thankful that we had never finished what we had started.

But over the last 6 months we (again, mostly Steve) rocked out on getting this done. With our insurance updated to cover sump pump and sewer back up issues....we were a little more comfortable with continuing this work!

We painted, put up trim, installed doors......

and today...got carpet installed (the only thing we hired someone to do for us!)

We still have a couple finishing touches to complete. And maybe we should look for furniture to put down here. As you can see, P is already making her mark on this room. All night long she's wanted to go up and down the stairs. 'mama, i go downstairs by myself!'

Steve already has ideas on what he is going to do with his man-room (the 3rd room in our basement). Our agreement was that he had to finish this room before starting his man-room! There has been talk of a poker table, pool table, of course a long bar (that he wants to make out of concrete) and I think I even heard talk of a mini-golf course. Big dreams for a 450 sq ft room. I'll have to take before and after pictures of this room too (so you might see those in a couple of years!) LOL!

One by one......

working on crossing off items on my life list!

- my daddy's retiring (#22)! We are so excited for him! Way to go daddy, we love you!
- I bought tickets for the Packers/Raiders game in December! (#12 and #18, kill 2 birds with one stone!) If you know me at all, you know my family are big Packer fans and Steve (for some unknown reason) is a Raiders fan. So we will be at Lambeau cheering on our teams, probably in 0 degree weather while it snows...but really, that's how you have to do it in Green Bay! That is football! (Happy early anniversary and Christmas present to us!)
- my consultation for laser eye surgery is tomorrow (step 1 for #36). If I get it done, it probably won't be until the beginning of next year but it is a step in the right direction!

BLAH

- I haven't been to the dermatologist this year...time just got away from me. I called Friday to make an appointment...their first opening January 19th! ARE YOU KIDDING ME? It will be 2 years in April since I've been, this body can't go that long without having something removed! Plus we leave for the Domican 2 weeks after that! Just what I need is more scars....guess scars are better than skin cancer. Perspective!
- I have my consultation for lasik eye surgery on Wednesday, we'll see if I'm eligible and how much it will cost...blah, blah. Wish me luck and we'll see when and if I get to cross another item off my life list!
- My sister Holly is funny! The Holly we know and love was missing there for a while, but she is back and better than ever! I'm so glad she was able to relax, reflect and find herself in Peru. I really think it was life changing experience for her! Love you HoMo!
- You know what I like about winter? I don't have to shave my legs as often. Steve is a lucky man, isn't he?

You're gonna love it at Adventureland......or not.

I got cheap tickets to Adventureland thru work and we haven't found the time to go. We decided to break down and go since we knew it was probably never going to be a 'fun' family adventure and there was no way we would be there more than a couple hours. We knew P would never ride a ride by herself...and we were right.
We got up at 9, were on the road by 9:30 and got to the park when it opened at 10.....and we were home by 1:30. The weather didn't help either, we were unable to enjoy the new water park b/c of the lightening and rain. I'm sure she would've liked that part, oh well maybe next year.
We forced her to ride the tea cups with us...she screamed the whole time. She was not interested in riding anything...with or without us.
We rode the train, she liked that.

Side note: The penny and nickel arcade, do not have any games you can play for a penny or nickel. In fact....they don't even charge a quarter or 50 cents....it's $.30 or $.55?! Nice money scam.

Dis and Dat

- P and I had waffles with peanut butter and syrup for dinner last night. We sat at the big table and had a quick 10 minute supper. It was nice. She is a mama's girl! She likes to test my patience. I need to appreciate the time that she does want to be with me b/c I can guarantee that it won't last long.
- So they are putting speed cameras on the interstate, some people think it's just a scam for the city to make money. You know what I think? Go for it! If the city can make some money by fining people for 'breaking the law', I think that's a good idea. If the money doesn't come from my pocket, I agree with the cameras!
- Her big girl bed is on back order for 4 more weeks but the carpet for the basement is being installed on Wednesday! So I might have pics next week of that!
- I am super duper excited for Parenthood and The Sing Off to start this fall. The last thing I want or need is an excuse to watch more TV, but I've got the DVR programmed for these two shows!
- P is so funny!! I told her it was night night time...and she says in her sweet, innocent voice "I cry! I say momma, momma!". She warns us when she is planning on crying. Lovely.
I asked her if she was going to be good at grandma's today and she says 'ya, ga buy more pan-pans' (or what she means....yeah, grandma bought more pancakes). And the first thing she says to my mom when we walk in the door "Buy more pan-pans?" (aka, Did you buy more pancakes?) This girl is overly obsessed with pancakes!
- I don't like seeing commercials for places we don't have in DSM. No Dave and Busters, no H&M...are they just teasing us?
- One of my pet peeves - leaving the shower curtain open after a shower. Shut it! No one needs to see the tub!
- I love a good neck and back cracking.
- My grandma's birthday is today, it makes me sad! :( I drank a beer for her, I know she is happy knowing that we are all thinking about her today. We love you Grandma Dorothy and miss you very much! Have a brandy manhattan and dance the night away!

Remember the movie The Never Ending Story?

Where has the last week gone? Monday Steve headed out to the Iowa State Fair with his friends, Tuesday I worked late. Wednesday I went to the fair with Holly and some friends (see Holly's link for pictures of that night! http://mysocalledlife-holly.blogspot.com/2011/08/iowa-state-fair.html) , Thursday Steve worked late and then Friday we headed to Earlham for the first highschool football game! It's always fun to go to Earlham where we know half the town and we got to watch Jake (a senior) and Derek (a freshman) both get plenty of playing time in the football game (which they won!).

Saturday I got up and went to work (hopefully this overtime thing will be coming to an end in the next month or so!) We hung out most of the day, all three of us taking short naps.....well I think Steve and I both got a little sleep, Presley played in her crib for a couple hours.

We actually had a babysitter lined up for the night! Yeehaw! My friend Sarah had a birthday party so we decided to take advantage of the night and go to dinner and drinks before heading over to her house! Andrea came over and Presley was SO excited! No tears or being scared that we would leave! It was nice and a little sad! We enjoyed our night, the weather was perfect and we were able to do a little bit of everything in that short 6 hours! Thanks again Andrea!

Today we decided to take Presley to the fair, we actually got 2 free tickets from my friend Nicole so that was an added bonus! We got their early, to beat the traffic, people and heat!

Our first food of the day....corn dog! It's basically a tradition at this point with us, that we always havea corn dog first!

We always tell P to chew her hotdogs good, this is her showing us that she did. Smart ass kid.

Second food...deep fried butter on a stick. Yes, I did it. And yes, they take a whole stick of butter dip it in a cinnamon sugar batter, deep fry it and then put frosting on top. Really it doesn't taste like butter at all, the butter melts into the batter so it's really like eating a cinnamon roll or soft cake batter! Not sure I need to eat it again, my heart will thank me.
The fair had a nice little farm experience for kids. They got an apron, hat and basket to start the journey (notice our kid with neither the apron or hat on). They basically got to 'plant' and 'harvest' vegetables, pick apples off trees, ride toy tractors (which she didn't want to do either) and then at the end you took all your produce to the farmers market for money. All kids got $1 to spend in their 'general store'. There was milk, juice, apples, Twinkies and you guessed it...bananas! P saw the bananas and there was no question what we were leaving that store with!

We saw lots of animals too! Presley was much more interested in these animals than she was when we went to the zoo. I don't know if it was b/c there was less people (since we were there early) or b/c we were able to get closer to them (She still doesn't want to be within a foot of any of these animals, so the petting zoo was not an option today).

Then we made sure we attended the mullet contest. All I can say is WOW! Some people take their mullets seriously, some people live this life style to the fullest!

Yes, brushing the mullet before the contest will help your odds to win.

Classy and trashy, right?

The winner, cut-off jean shorts and the ever popular midriff shirt.

Are their mothers proud? Do these guys get laid? Do their spouses help maintain these healthy heads of hair? How many of these guys were from the east-side of DSM? Just a couple questions I've been wondering since this contest. A contest that brings out the true meaning of the Iowa State Fair.

Being a mom....

......is the most difficult thing I've ever had to do. I second guess everything I do with her, you never know what is going to impact her either positively or negatively. And everyone judges you, no matter what decision you make or how you handle every situation.

There seem to be so many mom's that have everything together, all of the time. They have 3 kids and still seem to be able to paint their kitchen and sew a quilt during nap time. I don't think I ever have that much control or organization in my life. Sometimes I envy stay-at-home mom's for wanting to stay home and having the patience to do so but when I really think about it, I don't want to be a stay at home mom! I don't have the patience, I like getting away, I like to be able to go to work and talk to people (even if all we talk about is how much we hate work!). Sure I wish I could get more done at home during the week so we don't spend every Sunday going to the store and doing laundry but man, do I love picking up Presley from daycare and having her run to me with open arms for a hug! There is no better feeling than that!

My friend Shannon introduced me to a book that I just started reading that I am loving! "I WAS A REALLY GOOD MOM, BEFORE I HAD KIDS".....one of my favorite quotes from the book is "I love being a mom, I just don't like doing it!". It talks about how a lot of mom's pretend they are completely happy and have everything in order, but most of the time it's just a front they put on to make it appear they are 'good moms'!
The very first chapter asks "Does this sound like you?"

- You feel guilty that you like going to work so much
- You consider a trip to the dentist your special 'alone time'
- Reading before bed feels like a luxury
- You find that slowly browing the aisles at Target, by yourself, is better than therapy.

YES! Of course, most of it is all common sense stuff but they it makes me feel like they wrote this book for me!
I am lucky enough to have a husband who will do anything for me and P. If I have to work late, he is perfectly capable (and willing) to take her to the mall or a park, feed her dinner, give her a bath and put her to bed! I don't know what I would do without him. When I'm losing my patience with Presley, he reminds me that she is only 2 and that she doesn't know any better (which I don't always agree with)...and he tries to NOT lose his patience with me! LOL!