Stormy Saturday

Posted in House and Home, Isabella/Munchkin by teamtradermom

Today’s the day a giant catastrophic storm is supposed to roar through our area. Jim Cantore from the Weather Channel is even here.

That’s not good.

However, so far the storms have been fairly mild. Some rain here. A few thunder claps there. Nothing that would suggest the end of the world. But you never know with Nebraska, it could change in an instant.

I used the inside time today to be both productive and relax. Isabella and I ran to the store for supplies (like water) and then we lazed around watching TV. We also took a nice long nap. That felt good. There’s nothing better than napping on a stormy day.

Before the nap I got the hall closet organized.

I forgot to take a before picture (oops!) but imagine it was something like this, only inside the closet:

I culled through our towels and sheets, getting rid of ones that were old or mismatched. I kept enough for each of us to have 3 towels each, and 3 sets of sheets (for me and CJ – Isabella’s bedding is stored in her room). I also went through all the toiletries, medicine, and other paraphernalia and organized it.

Putting frequently used meds on the turntable works great. It’s handy because everything can be “up front” with a quick turn.

I also corralled all the bulk stuff (big bin on the left) so that I know what I have and what I don’t.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve run out and bought deodorant or something only to realize later I had an extra one on the floor of the closet. Hate that!

You can see that all my mani/pedi supplies were consolidated as well. Now I can just grab that whole bin and take it with me when I want to paint my nail, instead of searching for everything I need.

Feels good to check that project off the list.

Changing subjects….

Now to some random odds and ends from the week that I have been meaning to blog about but never got around to.

I love fresh flowers. I used to think they were an occasional treat but now I try and have them around the house all the time. Nothing brightens up a room better.

I bought a bouquet on sale for $5 the other day and split it up. This vase is sitting in our dining room.

And these little beauties went up in to Isabella’s room!

Funny how something so simple can make a big difference.

Remember how I told you about our puzzles at work?

Well we finished another one!

As you can see this was a 3-D one. I found it at a used toy store for $3 and thought, what the heck?

To be honest, I only put like 5 of the pieces together. I was too busy to help much this time around but the other gals did a bang up job!

We’ve already taken this one down and started puzzle #3. It’s a landscape scene with lots of water and sky. We’re about halfway done so far. I’ll share when we finish completely.

And now for a story about the Dog “Whisperer”

Samson was taken to the vet last week to have his leg looked at. He’d been limping around for a month or so. They x-rayed and found a sprained knee and really bad arthritis in both hips. He had never limped or shown any signs of the hip pain before. Doc said it’s because he’s so athletic and strong, that he was able to transfer the weight off his hips to his knees. But unfortunately, that’s how his knee got sprained. Anyway, he’s doing fine, just has to be on pain meds for a while. But we’re also supposed to keep him from running or playing too hard.

You tell me how we’re supposed to keep a lab from running?

Anyway, the other day, Samson started feeling his oats and grabbed one of Isabella’s stuffed toys and ran around the playroom with it. I yelled at him to stop and drop it and he ignored me. I yelled again and he just stood there with it in his mouth.

I was obviously having no effect on him.

Isabella calmly walked over to Samson, stood about a foot in front of his face and screamed, “DROP IT!!!!” at the top of her lungs.

Samson promptly opened his jaws and released his prisoner.

Isabella picked it up and brought it to me saying, “Here you go mommy. I got it back for you.”

Here’s hoping the big storm goes around us! Stay safe!

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2Apr2012

Spring Things

Posted in Family, Holidays and Seasons, Isabella/Munchkin by teamtradermom

Don’t you just love this time of year? It has been unbelievably nice and warm here in Omaha lately. We were in the 80’s and 90’s all weekend and in to today.

No complaints from me. I’d much rather have warmth than cold; sun than snow; green than brown.

But I will miss my cute winter boots.

Remember that glass art project I did a couple Friday’s ago? Well we got them back last week and I forgot to show you how AWESOME everyone’s stuff turned out!

Ta da!

Aren’t they all great? Each one is unique and different, yet super cool. Mine is the second from the left on the bottom row.

Here’s the before pic:

And a close-up of the after!

I am super happy with it and I particularly like how the colors sparkle and shine when the light shines through the window. I plan to hang it in one of the windows above our door. I just have to figure out a way to do that…

Speaking of projects…I tackled another one on Sunday.

A co-worker friend had given me a doll cradle a while back that was hers as a baby. It was in great condition, just needed a little TLC in terms of dusting and touch up work.

(By the way, it was impossible to take a picture without Samson photo-bombing it. Apparently the cradle had some tantalizing smells on it that REALLY intrigued him!)

I decided to paint the wood white and re-upholster the bed part. I’ve done it once before so naturally I’m an old pro…

I started by pulling the bottom out and ripping off the old fabric. I found some cute flannel stuff at the fabric store that would work for a couple projects, this being one of them.

I first laid the board on the fabric so I’d know how much to cut.

Then I trimmed a nice rectangle, making sure I had a couple inches of trim around each side.

The next step involved some very intricate fastening measures that should really only be left to people who know what they’re doing.

In other words, I used duct tape.

I folded in each side and taped it down with a long strip.

Then I folded the corners in and secured those.

The back can be ugly since it’ll never be seen.

When all was said and done, the “bed” looked like this.

Then it was time to tackle the painting. I simply drug the cradle outside and sprayed the bejeezus out of it with white spray paint.

The finished project turned out really nice! Isabella is going to love it!

I plan to give it to her on Easter, and use it as a “basket” for all her other goodies.

And I’d be remiss if I didn’t include one final picture of the cradle with Samson in the background.

Somehow I managed to get this whole project done during Isabella’s nap time. Unbelievable.

Finally…you can’t have spring and Easter season without sugar cookies!

Isabella helped me make them yesterday. I got the dough prepared ahead of time and she helped with cutting them out.

At first she didn’t get the concept of using them as actual cutters. She would just set the cookie cutters on top and them pull them off leaving very faint outlines.

Eventually she got the idea though.

Not only did we do bunnies and butterflies and dog bones (for Samson of course), we also had to do Christmas trees and candy canes and gingerbread men.

Naturally.

Once they were baked and cooled, she helped me frost them too. She chose to use yellow and pink frosting.

They all turned out absolutely perfect! And they taste even better because they were made with love!

My last project of the day was to fix her Gingerbread Man doll which she has slept with every night since December. Mind you, “Ginger” was a toy of mine as a kid so he’s not exactly a spring chicken. As such, part of his shirt was coming unstitched and he head was, um, partly falling off.

So morbid.

I used the same fabric that I bought for the cradle to fix Ginger, basically just sewing a new “bib” on him (which also attached his head back to his neck).

Isabella helped.

Let’s be clear – I’m not exactly a seamstress. But I can sew on a button and apparently fix an old cookie’s shirt (and head).

When I was done, I handed Ginger back to Isabella and she smiled, hugged him and said, “Thank you! He looks so handsome mommy!”

That’s all the thanks I need.

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9Mar2012

Bits and Pieces

Posted in CJ, Family, Isabella/Munchkin, Miscellaneous by teamtradermom

I know I haven’t posted in a while. Life’s been busy. Guess it’s time to play “catch up”!

1. I took a blow to the face in volleyball last week. Got hit right on my left cheek.

This picture was taken after about 5 days after it happened and it’s a nice greenish yellow color. Still a tad bit tender but nothing show stopping.

2. CJ and I went out on a date last weekend! Woot! We tried a new restaurant and it was fabulous!

OK so CJ looks annoyed in this pic but he wasn’t. I think I caught him right before/after the smile. Anywho, the place was Mark’s Bistro and it’s located above some shops in the Dundee neighborhood of Omaha. We had a great view from our table.

More importantly, the food was great! I had their famous macaroni and cheese. I mean, how could I not order that?

It didn’t disappoint! CJ got a salmon sandwich of some sort that was also very good.

After dinner we went to see “The Fantastik’s” at the local community theatre. It was in their small “in the round” theatre and we had front row seats. At one point one of the characters handed me his prop – pruning shears – and asked me to hold them. Turns out that actor was CJ’s high school theatre teacher! We went backstage afterwards and saw him. He said, “Hey, you were the one holding my shears!” It was a really fun evening and nice to get out for a bit!

3. Isabella helped me make Thin Mint Brownie’s on Sunday.

Samson was very interested in helping too…

There ended up being more licking than actual helping, but that’s ok!

4. I had to take Samson in to the vet today. He’s been limping around off and on for a few weeks. They think he has a sprained ACL. Doc gave him a steroid shot and some pain meds. Said if he didn’t stop limping after a few days on the meds, then they’d have to put him under and do X-Rays and other tests to see if there is a tear or something. Here’s hoping the meds and some rest do the trick!

5. Today I got to tour the construction site of the new office tower my company is building. It was super cool to see it all up close and personal!

Safety first!

This is one of the main hubs where all the electrical, HVAC, etc. run through.

Careful not to get to close to this guy!

Anyone have marshmallows?

Interior of the windows which are made of special glass. Don’t ask me to explain what’s special about it…I wasn’t listening that close. It’s environmental stuff.

Then we got to ride in this “Man Lift” all the way to the top. Our guide kept saying, “Man life…er, Woman lift…er,…Person lift.” Dude, just call it an elevator.

Now for the view from the top (11 stories up)!

Hiya!

I tell ya, I do not know how construction workers get those hard hats to stay on. I must not have a head shaped well for those. Mine kept slipping no matter how I tightened it. As you can see the vest didn’t fit real well either. But hey, it wasn’t about looking good, it was about safety!

6. As I was tucking Isabella in to bed tonight, she held on during our usual nightly hug for an extra long time. She rested her head on my shoulder and closed her eyes while I rocked her. I could have stood like that forever. After a few minutes, she pulled back, looked me in the eye, and then gave me a kiss and a smile.

There ain’t nothing better than that.

Nighty night!

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24Feb2012

Random Thought Friday

Posted in Isabella/Munchkin by teamtradermom

1. Isabella has turned the corner from being a distraction when I’m trying to get things done to being my helper. Instead of the constant “hold me! hold me!” pleas I used to get (OK, sometimes still do), I can now give her a task and let her do it.

For example, when making dinner the other night, I told her to play dress up as that would really help mommy out.

Like, really.

So she did!

First she put on a pair of slippers.

Then she added the crowning touch.

OK 3 crowns.

Believe it or not, this kept her busy for the 15 minutes I needed to throw some ingredients together.

I also discovered a trick to both tiring her out AND getting help at the store: make her push the cart. She thinks this is so much fun. What she doesn’t realize is that she’s getting lots of exercise walking around Target multiple times and it helps me keep track of her since she’s right there in front of me.

Genius!

No worries, she manages to have plenty of fun too.

Like finding beautiful bags to hold.

And hugging pillows.

2. Over dinner, I asked Isabella today if she went outside to play in the snow. She said, “Not probably. It’s not impossible.”

Not sure if that means she did or didn’t. We have a little Riddler on our hands folks!

3. Speaking of The Riddler, CJ has a multitude of comic book posters in the basement. They used to hang in his man cave at the old house. In the new house, they’re just leaning against the wall, waiting for a home. Isabella saw one the other day that had every single Marvel character imaginable on it.

She was naming some of the more obvious character like Spiderman, Captain America, Hulk, etc. She impressed me when she could pinpoint Wolverine, The Thing and Thor. Then she blew me away when I pointed to this guy and said, “I bet you don’t know who that is!”

I mean, I don’t even know who that is.

Without hesitating she replied, “That’s Juggernaut Mommy!”

*jaw dropping*

I checked with CJ and she’s right. Little Smarty Pants.

Tomorrow I plan to set her down to do our taxes.

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20Feb2012

Dancing Queen

Posted in Isabella/Munchkin by teamtradermom

Isabella has always been a mover and a shaker. Even in the womb she was rolling and kicking a lot. The nurse joked at our first ultrasound that Munchkin was doing the can-can in there!

So it comes as no surprise that to this day she loves to shake her grove thing any time music is playing. She’s a lot like me that way. I’m “that person” who bobs and wiggles in their seat when good music is playing at a restaurant or bar. And just try and stop me from getting out on the dance floor when we go to the clubs.

Lately I’ve been fortunate enough to have my phone nearby when Isabella was “breaking it down” and have caught a few moments on video. I posted the one already from the Super Bowl party. Here are a few more for your viewing pleasure!

Warning: intense cuteness ahead!

Isabella dancing to the music from her toy lion.

Notice the fancy footwork she does in the middle and then her Bill Cosby hip action toward the end.

Here she is dancing to the “hot dog dance” at the end of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.

The “Hot Dog Dance”–she even starts singing at the end!

And last but not least, today I caught her dancing to the music from her toy camera. She does some fancy moves in this one – using all the space and even mouthing some of the words. Look out Milley Vanilly!

She’s got rhythm, she’s got music…

I hope you enjoyed those as much as we did! We want them over and over mostly because Isabella likes to watch herself. But we never get tired of it either.

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