Sorry!

Sorry it has been such a long time since I updated this blog! I will be returning with a new blog soon... something a little less "family"-oriented. Hope you'll join me!

Conquering the Tricycle

DS has been working on riding the tricycle for a few weeks now... and he's finally mastered it! Here's a short video of him riding today. Excuse the quality- it's from my phone.

World AIDS Day 2009

While I was attending ISU, I volunteered for over a year at an HIV/AIDS education center. It started out as a project for class, but I soon grew to really enjoy it. It was incredibly rewarding and is one of the few college "experiences" I can say positively affected me and changed my outlook on life. I encourage everyone to celebrate World AIDS Day today, December 1.

Started on 1st December 1988, World AIDS Day is about raising money, increasing awareness, fighting prejudice and improving education. The World AIDS Day theme for 2009 is 'Universal Access and Human Rights'. World AIDS Day is important in reminding people that HIV has not gone away, and that there are many things still to be done.

According to UNAIDS estimates, there are now 33.4 million people living with HIV, including 2.1 million children. During 2008 some 2.7 million people became newly infected with the virus and an estimated 2 million people died from AIDS.1 Around half of all people who become infected with HIV do so before they are 25 and are killed by AIDS before they are 35.2

The vast majority of people with HIV and AIDS live in lower- and middle-income countries. But HIV today is a threat to men, women and children on all continents around the world.

http://www.avert.org/world-aids-day.htm

School Pictures 2009

The Day Has Finally Arrived!

I will be at the midnight showing tonight! Can't wait!

Happy Veterans Day!

Thank you to all the men and women who have served and continue to serve for our great country. Happy Veteran's Day!

Halloween 2009

Under the Weather...

Sorry for the lack of posts lately. No excuse except that life keeps getting in way.
DD and I are both sick right now with strep throat; I anticipate DS and the geek will have it by the end of the week. It just keeps getting better around here!

Happy 5th Birthday, DD!

September 22, 2004


September 22, 2009

It's hard to believe 5 years have passed! She's a big girl now!

We Will Never Forget...

Toileting Update...

I've had a couple people ask how the toileting is going with DD. It's... going. Some days are good- the majority lately haven't been great. She had quite a few accidents over the weekend, and now she seems rather upset when she has to sit on the toilet. We found another kind of soda that she likes, so we're flooding her with liquids to give her lots of opportunities to try.
It's a challenge. Then again, what isn't?

Day One: Intensive Toileting

Day one of "intensive toileting" with DD. She has been working on potty training for at least a year now off and on. It goes well for a while, then she regresses for a while. We're starting a program with the therapists today to work on it... we're hoping it goes well. It would be nice to have one out of diapers. I was trying to estimate how many diapers I've changed since they were born... average 5 per day for the 16-months it was just DD, then 10-12 a day since DS has been born. I think I guessed it at about 15,000... too many to count!

Scary...

It appears I've opened a can of worms...
We'll see how this whole "quilting" thing works out for me. I'm starting simple- a "rag quilt" with some flannel scraps I had lying around. I've been cutting and cutting and cutting some more. And I've got quite a bit more cutting to do. I'm armed with some instructions I printed off the web. And I'm never afraid to try new things- it's always a learning experience!

Last of the Pics...

Wow, it's been a while since I posted, huh? I don't really have any excuse except that I've been super busy finishing up projects around the house. I have a few sewing projects I will probably post next week, but I need to give them to their intended owners first!
Here are the last of the pics from the TwiTour convention! These are of The Hillywood Show. This is a parody group that does an AMAZING parody of the "Twilight" movie. They also have a few other parodies that they do including "The Dark Knight". Check them out on you-tube or their website, http://www.thehillywoodshow.com/ if you get a chance. They are the nicest people- and so talented!

TwiTour 2009- Saturday Nite

On Saturday night, the other TwiMoms and myself attended the TwiTour Ball. Basically we got all dressed up... and proceeded to act crazy and make fools of ourselves! This was also another opportunity to "mingle" with some of the actors. Chaske Spencer, Bronson Pelletier and Christian Serratos were there for a bit and The Hillywood Show (there will be a post dedicated to them soon) kept the party going! A great time was had by all!

TwiTour 2009- Saturday

Saturday was pretty much devoted to the wolf pack. Now, I'm ALL Team Edward, but even I appreciate a little eye candy!!! The two "wolves" are Chaske Spencer who is playing "Sam" in "New Moon" and Bronson Pelletier who is playing "Jared". These guys have no idea what they're in for... next year, they won't even be able to walk down the street!




Another guest on Saturday was Christian Serratos who played "Angela" in the movie. She had on the coolest pants and shoes... black sequins. She also had a fake "Hello Kitty" tattoo on her arm! She was so beautiful and very gracious to the audience!





Also, I apologize for how crappy these pictures are. The lighting wasn't that great at the convention site, and my camera isn't cut out for zooming in. Maybe I'll get a new camera before the Chicago convention in October! Yes, I'm headed to another one!! Thank you to the geek!

Extras!!

Just had to post these two pics that my friend, Tammy, took of me with Peter and Gil! Love them!

TwiTour 2009- Friday Nite!

Here are a few pics from Friday night- supper at Hard Rock Cafe with the other TwilightMoms (http://www.twilightmoms.com)! Disclaimer- you must be SOMEWHAT crazy to be a member of TwilightMoms. As these pics show- we fill the crazy quota!



A couple of us also brought along our "Pocket Edwards" (since Robert Pattinson himself couldn't join us).






I also just have to tell this story...
I am a night-owl. I rarely go to bed before 1-2am. However, Friday night I decided to head to bed early with my roomies, since they were all exhausted and I didn't want to wake them up by coming to bed later. In the morning I learned that a few of the other moms had run into Peter Facinelli in the hotel bar and hung out with him much of the night. It seems he had forgotten his passport (he was supposed to fly to London that night), so he was stuck there another day. Of all the nights to go to bed early!

TwiTour 2009- Friday

I thought I would post each day's pics separately... here are Friday's! Friday's special guests were Peter Facinelli (Carlisle Cullen) and Gil Birmingham (Billy Black). Both of them were wonderful! Funny and SO talented! Gil played guitar during his Q&A- he is actually very good. Peter told the best stories about his family. For those of you who don't know, Peter is married to Jennie Garth (of 90210 fame).










On Friday I also had the honor of attending a wine and cheese tasting with Peter along with five other girls. It really was a once-in-a-lifetime experience- something I will never forget! No pics from that (against the rules), but I did get a picture and hug from him when he signed autographs later in the day. Just waitng for that pic to get emailed to me and I will post it!

TwiTour 2009

Here are just a few pics from the weekend! I will be posting more as the week progresses!