Saturday, December 20, 2008

Snow is falling all around!

Leila and our first real Christmas tree coming home from the lot!


Since Cory and I didn't really know what we were doing setting up the stand and getting the tree all set up, so Leila took the lead.







I think she did a good job, it turned out great!





These are from Leila's concert, the one of her class is really dark and hard to see, but there wasn't much to see anyway. Leila covered her face with her hands...when that didn't make the crowd disappear, she pulled her dress up over her face. The teacher wouldn't have that though and pulled her dress back down. So she resorted to crying. We really didn't know what to expect, but as I told Cory, she is my daughter so I can't be too surprised by this... My dad later reinforced my comment by telling Cory that Leila comes from a long line of hiders.





Mommy and Leila in front of our Christmas tree. This was after Leila's daycare program.



Grandma Lori and Leila decorated cookies together on Grandma day. Leila is a big fan of frosting.




Leila and I made presents for her daycare teachers. Leila's job was to fill the pillows with the rice/beans/lavender mixture. While she was loading up her spoon Cory took a picture and told her to look at Daddy. You can see she had a hard time multitasking :)

Thursday, December 11, 2008

I am the luckiest...

This was the thought that crossed my mind this morning while I was sitting in my car eating powdered donettes while Cory scraped the ice off of my windows.

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

A Year in 10

A challenge for all of you fellow bloggers. Pick 10 pictures that tell the story of YOUR 2008. No words, just pictures! This is harder than you may think...












Wednesday, December 03, 2008

A stroll down memory lane

So yesterday instead of heading into the office I attend a seminar at the University. So much about the experience reminded me of my college days, and really made me feel old. The day started off with a reminder of my least favorite thing about being a student...having to walk to classes in the freezing cold. The seminar was held in the Business building, where Cory and I both spent a lot of time during our stay at the University. Cory majored in Business, Management Information Systems, and I have a business minor.
Walking around that building brought back so many memories, some good, some not so good. It was a strange experience, but I did really like the break in routine and gawking at the many students because of what they find to be appropriate to wear outside of their apartments. :)
The Seminar was called Managing Projects and Priorities. One of those things that I do to help me reach the requirements to get my Project Management certification. It was a good course, though there was a little tangent about values that I found to be kind of depressing. The speaker told us that you need to evaluate what your values are. What are the most important things to you. Once you know your values, you need to make sure that everyday you are doing work that matches your values, and once you get there, you have a legitimate claim of possessing inner peace. Huh. If I have to spend my days doing work that is motivated by my values, I am never going to find inner peace, though I am not sure anyone ever truly does.
Which brings me to my after seminar activities. So, the seminar was over at 3:30, and Leila is used to getting picked up at 4:45 so I figured this was a perfect opportunity for me to check out a store downtown that I had been meaning to visit. I will just refer to the store as, "the dream crusher." A couple of ladies decided to open this store in Iowa City. The store sells designer fabrics, patterns and yarn. They have a studio space where people can rent time on a sewing machine and classes are offered. They also have a small cafe where you can buy drinks and baked goods. The reason I have given the store such an endearing nickname is that for a several years I have had a dream to open a store that sells designer fabrics, has a small cafe, studio space and offers classes. I don't really care about yarn so I guess they have me there. Oh, and it wasn't that impressive, not nearly enough fabric selection, and I would have a place for kids to hang out and also allow for local seamstresses to sell their products too. Oh well.

So I was thinking that I should post some pictures of my baby belly, but so far pictures haven't happened, trust me when I say it is looking pretty obvious these days. Sooner or later I will get to that. As well as pictures of our families very first real Christmas tree...one of these days.

Monday, December 01, 2008

Pea in the Podcast

Not long after Leila was born, a friend of mine from my mommy message board asked me to participate in a podcast interview. I thought it sounded like fun and now Bonnie's podcast series, as well as her blog are live and available! Bonnie is a journalist in the Houston Texas area and another great momma who have I have enjoyed sharing the experience of parenting little girls with.

If you are pregnant, thinking about becoming pregnant or the mom of a small child you may learn something from Bonnie, so check her out here:

http://www.peainthepodcast.com/blog/

And as a special bonus, if you listen to the pod cast's you will get to hear my interview!