The Dumbest Promo Ever

I was at my local Wal-Mart today getting my paycheck's worth of groceries when I came across what I believe to be one of the dumbest promotions I've ever seen. There, on a small card table in front of the electronics was a sign that said "Sign up for a Wal-Mart credit card today and get a free can of Pringles!" Really, that's all you've got to offer me? Not only that, but the cans of Pringles they had on display weren't even the full-size Pringles! To all of you out there who are thinking "hey, it's still a free can of Pringles!" I think you should just go out and buy yourself a full can of Pringles at the whopping price of $1.00 and save yourself the headache of yet another credit card. Yikes!

Moms the Word!

Who's going with me? Hearts at Home's National Conference is coming to ISU on March 12 & 13th this year. We've got some amazing speakers lined up and it's always sure to be a great weekend of fun, relaxation and encouragement. I'm planning on registering this week, so if you're coming with me, don't forget that the registration deadline is February 10th (to get the best deal, of course!)

If you don't know anything about Hearts at Home, just let me know and I can fill you in! I promise you don't want to miss it. You can also check out our website at http://www.hearts-at-home.org/ You can find our entire conference brochure that lists our speakers and over 24 different workshops to choose from. Registration is online and super-easy!

I don't know about you, but I'm ready for weekend away!

Bowling and Basketball

We had a snowday on Thursday so we were determined to do something fun. Considering we were having single digit temperatures, we didn't venture out to build a snowman. We thought it might be fun to take Caleb bowling for the first time (especially since ISU wasn't in session yet). Here are some highlights:

Then on Saturday we went to an ISU basketball game. They lost, but we still had fun. Caleb spent most of the game searching for Reggie Redbird, dancing to the music and chowing on nachos. Ah good times. I tried to take pictures, but stadium lighting doesn't do much for great pics.

Catch-Up Pictures

A month in review using pictures:

Check out our mini-snow-man!

Helping mommy make PB Balls

Caleb was a cow in the Christmas program. He can 'moo' with the best of 'em!

The kiddos on Christmas Eve - don't they look nice?

I think we look more alike than we'd like to admit!

Rockin' out to Grandma's dancing penguins on Christmas. I think he looks like he's up to something.

And this video...because it's adorable. April and I took the kids to listen to Gabe and Josh play their trumpets at BroMenn for Christmas. Santa was there (he wasn't a hit), but there's always time for dancing!

Merry Christmas...from the plumber?

Apparently Santa Claus comes in many forms. And this year, he came dressed as middle-aged, slightly cranky, overweight plumber. If you haven't heard, we had the blessing of greeting our local plumber not one, not two, but three times in one week. Ah the joys of home-ownership! Apparently, anytime I would run a load in the washing machine, water would spill out on the floor. Hmmm. Was it coming from the ridiculously old washing machine, or the ridiculously old cast iron pipe in the floor? After many hours spent staring at the back of my washer to catch the water culprit in action (I swore someone was playing a trick on me to see how many times I would stare at the back of my washer) I determined it was coming from the pipe. Hooray for not having to buy a new washer! Boo, for having to call the plumber.


So the plumber comes the first time, fixes it and leaves. The next day, more water. He comes back, fixes it and leaves. And wouldn't you know, I get up the next morning and there's water on the floor in the laundry room again. Only this time it's coming from the drain on the floor where the dehumidifier drains into. It's clogged. Really? I had to call him again. Seriously, this must be a joke.


So he comes a third time. In the middle of augering (yes, that's a new word I'm quite familiar with now), he comes out and says to me, "hey, you think it would be okay if I give the little guy something?" I'm thinking "yeah, sure, if you've got a McDonald's toy in your truck you're dying to give away, you can give it to him." So he goes out to his truck and comes back in with, and I'm not kidding, a 3 ft long Nylint die-cast 18-wheeler. "Do you think he would like this?" the plumber said. My jaw was on the floor. I was like "Uh, he would love this! Are you sure?" "Yeah," he says, "wrap it up for Christmas. It's just been sitting in our truck taking up space and he looks like he would really like it."

So thank you to our plumber Santa. We're going to have one very happy little boy come December 25th. But please, don't ever come back to our house!

Things I'm loving about the new house

1. The windows - I love being able to see outside and get natural light just about anywhere. We went from having a total of 4 windows to 13 windows. Hooray for seeing outside!
2. A real washing machine - okay, so it might be harvest gold (circa 1983 according to the plumber - that story later) but it's a full washing machine. That means I can actually do more than 1 pair of pants at a time. Blissful!
3. Only 2 bathrooms - While one might think that going from 3 to 2 bathrooms is a down-grade, I contend that it only means less time cleaning bathrooms and that's a plus for me.
4. The office - there are so many things that are great about this room - let me count thy ways. First, my cell phone works in the office, which is a victory since I need my phone while encouraging the moms of the world one conference program at a time. Second, the abundance of overhead light. If you were ever at our old place, it was a very dim little office room. And last, my treadmill. It fits! After begrudgingly storing it away when Caleb was born because of lack of space, it's finally made an appearance again so I can use it....but will I, that is the question!
5. The bathtub - one doesn't think about these things when they buy their first house, but in the old place we had shower doors instead of a shower curtain. Giving a kiddo a bath with shower doors stinks. Hooray for movable shower curtains!
6. The garage - this one is a given, of course, but I can't recall how long it has been since I've had the luxury of getting in a semi-warm v. frozen with ice car in the winter. Heaven!
7. Neighbors - yeah, they can be good and bad, but we've had our share of bad (anyone remember Tina and her Tiny Tots?), so I'm ecstatic with normal neighbors (no pun intended). Plus, we had one of our neighbors offer to give us their wooden outdoor playset for free. How awesome was that?! Not so awesome to move (not that I know, it was more of a guy type job and it took about 10 of them), but awesome for us to get for free.
8. A yard - another given, but Caleb just loves it. He even has "his tree".

I'm sure I could find more, but that's all for now! When are you coming to visit me?

Happy 2nd Birthday, Caleb!

What an amazing little boy we think you are! Daddy and I are so proud of the little man you are becoming. You are our little red-headed spitfire that we love having in our lives. I can't imagine a day without you. You are quite the ham and love to get a good laugh out of everyone. Everyday that goes by you are learning so much, putting words together, discovering new things and becoming more independent. You love to play with cars, but more importantly with CARS - anything Lightning McQueen. You've discovered music and love to play "marchin' band" with the trumpet that Daddy made for you. You're also becoming quite good at playing hide 'n' seek (which may haunt us later).

We're excited to see what the upcoming year brings into your little life. We thank God for you and how he put all of the good from your Daddy and I into one little person. We love you!