Let me preface this first. When we were in medical school in Milwaukee I came across a live aution on the local television station. They were raising money for the local PBS station. I totally got hooked on it one day and then got Phil into it as well. I would call and bid on stuff but I could never get anything. All of the stuff was usually way out of our price range but I thought who watches this stuff at 1pm or 1am so I would try and get the stuff at the best times. I was so excited to surprise someone with this awesome Christmas gift that I only paid 20 bucks for but it was a painting worth $300. They would do the auctions for a week or so at a time once or twice a year and we never 'won' anything. We started calling it winning even though we were totally paying for it cause people would call up and snatch it right out from us with seconds left and we would feel like we lost it. Phil and I both are not 'lucky' people, we never win drawing or anything- I have always wished I was one of those people, you know who you are, who always get picked.
So back to the present. McKell had a little fundraising dinner tonight at her elementary school. We went, and after dinner they had a basket auction. There was a lot of fun things donated from local business and her teacher was going to take one student to a movie on a Saturday, McKell really wanted this so I thought hey we might have a chance. So we got our little number that was taped on a Popsicle stick (we were #30), sat in our chairs and waited for them to start. They had a real auctioneer which was super fun to listen to and no one knew how much they were bidding- it was hilarious. The movie with her teacher went for like $150 and the kindergarten painting which I actually raised my number for got too high as well. It was so fun to bid, very nerveracking cause really it was hard to understand the guy and he would sometimes jump up $20 and sometimes jump up $5. Anyway, we finally 'won' something- hip, hip, hooray! We got this little basket with sunglasses, and vision screening and glasses- Phil really needs new glasses (I am getting Lasik so I do not need new glasses! :)) We also got a Taekwondo package, McKell has been saying she wants to take karate so I was telling her about the kids I see at the rec center doing taekwondo and we were going to sign her up the next time the classes were offered. Anyway I got a great deal- the outfit, 1 month of lessons, 5 passes for friends, and a bunch of other stuff that I don't know what it is- all for $50 (which is the cost of lessons). Pretty great huh!
I know the point of these actions is to raise money so we should be paying highter than the sticker price but I am all about the deals, its a win- win right. I would love to start going to actions at all these old farms around, except that I probably wouldn't want what they were selling and I am NOT a window shopper. Watch out for McKell, next time you see her she might have some new moves!
Friday, February 29, 2008
Friday, February 22, 2008
Today
Today by 12:00pm (noon) I ...
1. Had to wake up a sleeping Nate to take McKell and her car pool to school. (I HATE waking sleeping babies)
2. Dropped the kids off late cause cars were stuck in the school parking lot.
3. Got STUCK in the snow coming up my street. Sat there for 20 minutes trying to get the van unstuck. A big thanks to a lady and guy who stopped and helped.
4. Was late getting Alyssa to gymnastics (understandably but still).
5. Found Nate getting out of his car seat, yep standing up in his car seat while driving to gymnastics. I couldn't stop and fix the situation because the roads are lined with huge piles of snow, so I grabbed him and held him down while driving with one hand on the icy roads.
6. Got a phone call from Phil that who said he wouldn't be home to help me take the kids to McKell's dance performance tonight.Ugggghhhhh!
Today by 12am (midnight) I ...
1. Cleared up a misunderstanding with a friend.
2. Took 3 kids during dinner time to a little town 30 minutes away in the cold weather by myself to a dance performance. Left my house at 5pm and was early to the performance- got the kids fed, warm, entertained, loved, and rested (all fell asleep during a portion of the trip) by myself for 3 hours. Quite a task! McKell loved it, Alyssa wants to take dance next year and Nate liked it for a little while then got bored- promising to me- the high school team has a guy on it so I don't want Nate feeling too much a home there.
3. Saw part of my driveway! Hurray some of the ice melted!
4. Talked with a friend who lives far away and whom I miss, and my mom who I am still mad I didn't get to spend time with after my trip(See previous post).
5. Was early to pick up McKell and car pool group from school.
6. Played (tickled, wrestled, laughed) as a family -kids and Phil- for a little while before bed.
Even though the day didn't start out too stellar it ended up being a pretty great day!
1. Had to wake up a sleeping Nate to take McKell and her car pool to school. (I HATE waking sleeping babies)
2. Dropped the kids off late cause cars were stuck in the school parking lot.
3. Got STUCK in the snow coming up my street. Sat there for 20 minutes trying to get the van unstuck. A big thanks to a lady and guy who stopped and helped.
4. Was late getting Alyssa to gymnastics (understandably but still).
5. Found Nate getting out of his car seat, yep standing up in his car seat while driving to gymnastics. I couldn't stop and fix the situation because the roads are lined with huge piles of snow, so I grabbed him and held him down while driving with one hand on the icy roads.
6. Got a phone call from Phil that who said he wouldn't be home to help me take the kids to McKell's dance performance tonight.Ugggghhhhh!
Today by 12am (midnight) I ...
1. Cleared up a misunderstanding with a friend.
2. Took 3 kids during dinner time to a little town 30 minutes away in the cold weather by myself to a dance performance. Left my house at 5pm and was early to the performance- got the kids fed, warm, entertained, loved, and rested (all fell asleep during a portion of the trip) by myself for 3 hours. Quite a task! McKell loved it, Alyssa wants to take dance next year and Nate liked it for a little while then got bored- promising to me- the high school team has a guy on it so I don't want Nate feeling too much a home there.
3. Saw part of my driveway! Hurray some of the ice melted!
4. Talked with a friend who lives far away and whom I miss, and my mom who I am still mad I didn't get to spend time with after my trip(See previous post).
5. Was early to pick up McKell and car pool group from school.
6. Played (tickled, wrestled, laughed) as a family -kids and Phil- for a little while before bed.
Even though the day didn't start out too stellar it ended up being a pretty great day!
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times...
Friday night my mom arrived to take over the reigns. Phil and I (with Nate) left Saturday morning. We flew to Minneapolis and then on to Denver. The weather was bad in Minneapolis and we were worried we wouldn't get out, but after 2 hours in the plane de-icing we were able to fly out. We got to sunny Denver and I said, "we really need to move to the west". It was so fun to see James and Marion (friends from med school) and their kids. We went to a great mexican restaurant (missing good mexican here in Iowa) and played games. The next day we were on our way to Telluride, a 6 hour drive from Denver or a 45 minute plane ride. That's right we jumped on our private plane (Steve you ROCK!) and were there in less than an hour. Phil was LOVING the leg room and even got to sit up front with the pilot to land us. This is the way to travel! 
We got to Telluride just as Jason and Gretchen were pulling into town from Spokane, Wa. It was perfect timing. It was so much fun to see everyone and hang out again. We stayed in an amazing condo in Mountain Village, right outside our door was the ski lift and the gondola to ride into town. We spent the next 6 days playing settlers and cards, playing guitar hero and the wii, sitting in our own hot tub, skiing, ice skating, snow shoeing, laughing, and talking about the 'good ol' days'.
Jason and Gretchen had to leave on Thursday and we flew out Saturday back to Denver. We had such a great time. It was another amazing trip- thanks so much Steve(James' father)! While in Denver we celebrated Steve's birthday and spent the night rockn' out with rock band! Sunday morning we got up and started out treck back to reality.
We left Denver a little late and thought we would need to hurry to our gate in Minneapolis. But no hurring needed. Our flight was canceled to Cedar Rapids. The next flight was at 5 pm and we got booked on that flight. Canceled. 7pm flight...canceled. We some how got a flight the next day at 11am, everyone else was not getting flights out until Tuesday night. We got a hotel and then received a phone call that our 11am flight was canceled for the next day. We started calling around for rental cars so we could just drive home and they were all gone. We finally found a car not at the airport and it was VERY pricey but we needed to get home because my mom was flying out Monday night. Phil went to the airport to try and get our bags that night (Sunday) and talked with someone who got us on a 5pm flight Monday, so we decided to do that since it was now snowing in Minneapolis and the roads were still bad in Iowa. When we got to the airport the next day our 5pm flight was delayed to 7pm. My moms flight was leaving at 7:30pm so I made arrangements for the kids(thanks Robilyn). We got on the plane about 6pm and sat out on the runway for 45 minutes, then we took off. We made it to Cedar Rapids at 7:30 and my mom and I talked on cell phones. I could see her plane when ours landed and she was on her plane ready to take off. We had figured out a great plan for her to drop off the van and I would just drive it home (we had Phil's car there already). Phil went out to get the van and couldn't find the keys. I was waiting for our luggage, which had arrived on an earlier flight. I went out to see if I could find the keys, nope. It was about negative 16 outside so we waited for our bags so Phil could get his coat out and go scrap off the 4 inches of ice on the car that had been sitting there for the week. But quoting Phil 'adding insult to injury' our bag with our winter gear was lost in the fiasco, so Phil had to go clean off the car in subzero windchills without a coat. Can you say frostbite? It took him a long time to dig out the car. He finally came inside and tied a long sleeve shirt around his ears. We got all of the luggage in the car and since one of our bags was lost (still is) we were able to have room for the girls without their carseats, which were locked in the van. We had to leave the van there overnight. We drove to get the girls on roads of ice and passed a few dozen cars in snow banks. We made it home safely and today a friend took me to get the van and found the keys in the snow, the wind must have blown them off the tire to the inside of the wheel where I wasn't digging with my bare hands the night before. As the title of this very long blog says.. It was the best of times... it was the worst of times!
We got to Telluride just as Jason and Gretchen were pulling into town from Spokane, Wa. It was perfect timing. It was so much fun to see everyone and hang out again. We stayed in an amazing condo in Mountain Village, right outside our door was the ski lift and the gondola to ride into town. We spent the next 6 days playing settlers and cards, playing guitar hero and the wii, sitting in our own hot tub, skiing, ice skating, snow shoeing, laughing, and talking about the 'good ol' days'.
Jason and Gretchen had to leave on Thursday and we flew out Saturday back to Denver. We had such a great time. It was another amazing trip- thanks so much Steve(James' father)! While in Denver we celebrated Steve's birthday and spent the night rockn' out with rock band! Sunday morning we got up and started out treck back to reality.
We left Denver a little late and thought we would need to hurry to our gate in Minneapolis. But no hurring needed. Our flight was canceled to Cedar Rapids. The next flight was at 5 pm and we got booked on that flight. Canceled. 7pm flight...canceled. We some how got a flight the next day at 11am, everyone else was not getting flights out until Tuesday night. We got a hotel and then received a phone call that our 11am flight was canceled for the next day. We started calling around for rental cars so we could just drive home and they were all gone. We finally found a car not at the airport and it was VERY pricey but we needed to get home because my mom was flying out Monday night. Phil went to the airport to try and get our bags that night (Sunday) and talked with someone who got us on a 5pm flight Monday, so we decided to do that since it was now snowing in Minneapolis and the roads were still bad in Iowa. When we got to the airport the next day our 5pm flight was delayed to 7pm. My moms flight was leaving at 7:30pm so I made arrangements for the kids(thanks Robilyn). We got on the plane about 6pm and sat out on the runway for 45 minutes, then we took off. We made it to Cedar Rapids at 7:30 and my mom and I talked on cell phones. I could see her plane when ours landed and she was on her plane ready to take off. We had figured out a great plan for her to drop off the van and I would just drive it home (we had Phil's car there already). Phil went out to get the van and couldn't find the keys. I was waiting for our luggage, which had arrived on an earlier flight. I went out to see if I could find the keys, nope. It was about negative 16 outside so we waited for our bags so Phil could get his coat out and go scrap off the 4 inches of ice on the car that had been sitting there for the week. But quoting Phil 'adding insult to injury' our bag with our winter gear was lost in the fiasco, so Phil had to go clean off the car in subzero windchills without a coat. Can you say frostbite? It took him a long time to dig out the car. He finally came inside and tied a long sleeve shirt around his ears. We got all of the luggage in the car and since one of our bags was lost (still is) we were able to have room for the girls without their carseats, which were locked in the van. We had to leave the van there overnight. We drove to get the girls on roads of ice and passed a few dozen cars in snow banks. We made it home safely and today a friend took me to get the van and found the keys in the snow, the wind must have blown them off the tire to the inside of the wheel where I wasn't digging with my bare hands the night before. As the title of this very long blog says.. It was the best of times... it was the worst of times!
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Go Giants!
I'm so happy the Giants won the Superbowl. Phil hates the Patriots so he has conditioned me to not like them as well. We had a fun little party with some fun friends and yummy food. Here is a queso dip that is SO GOOD! Thanks Catherine.
Catherine's Queso dip
1 lb ground beef -cook-(add minced onion and salt and pepper)
add to pot over medium heat
1 can diced tomatoes
2 cans diced green chilies
1 can ranch (texas, whatever you can find) style pinto beans
3/4 jar (16 or 24 oz) favorite salsa
1 block of velvita cheese (cut into cubes)
1 block cream cheese
make sure cheese is melted and DOESN'T burn
then add
1 can green enchilada sauce
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
I transfered mine to a crock pot to keep warm, but you can keep in on the stove over warm.
You have GOT to try this- SUPER good!
Catherine's Queso dip
1 lb ground beef -cook-(add minced onion and salt and pepper)
add to pot over medium heat
1 can diced tomatoes
2 cans diced green chilies
1 can ranch (texas, whatever you can find) style pinto beans
3/4 jar (16 or 24 oz) favorite salsa
1 block of velvita cheese (cut into cubes)
1 block cream cheese
make sure cheese is melted and DOESN'T burn
then add
1 can green enchilada sauce
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
I transfered mine to a crock pot to keep warm, but you can keep in on the stove over warm.
You have GOT to try this- SUPER good!
Saturday, February 2, 2008
Boy, Oh Boy!
In college, I took my human development and child psychology classes and when we were discussing the influences of environment vs genetics I was very interested. I thought the environment played a bigger roll in how people turned out and what kinds of things they liked. Well, having kids has made me think differently.
Nate is very much a BOY. He digs through our giant basket of toys to find the lightsaber the girls got last Christmas, how does he know that is a boy toy (pretty much the only boy toy we have in there). He is interested in the wheels of Alyssa's scooter, any kind of ball, and the electronic gagets lying around. He could care less about the millions of stuffed animals the girls have or the billions of dolls sitting here or there (unless they are little enough for him to put in his mouth and bite on their heads-see earlier post about teething).
He is the first of my children to open a kitchen cupboard and play with the pans, unroll toilet paper, pull out the griddle. Don't worry, he doesn't have time to play with his messes. His sisters are right there when they hear or see him and they quickly move him and put things away. As much as I like the help I kinda feel bad for the little guy not being able to really get into it. Nate will be 10 months old on Tuesday and he has been so much fun.
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