A few pictures...

Here are the bangs. The little one found this rather entertaining.
I can't believe how big she is getting.

I woke up looking like death...

A few weeks ago I came down with a very nasty bug. Felt super sick and wanted to die. I don't know exactly what I had...swollen tonsils, killer headache, fever of 103 degrees, and horrible night sweats. About the night sweats...it was a particularly rough night, I think I changed my soaking wet clothes (yes from sweat) 2 or 3 times that night. My hair was even wet. I had to get a towel and put it down on the sheets because they were soaked and I didn't want to wake Nate up to change them. I know that may be way to much info. Needless to say I didn't get the best sleep that night. I had some hydrocodone, but even that wasn't doing the trick.

The long sleepless night took its toll on me. When I took a peak at myself in the mirror the next morning I seriously looked like I had been slapped with the ugly stick. It as kin of scary. And I am not even being dramatic. It was a really rough night. My hair is sort of wavy and when it gets wet it goes really frizzy. So when I woke up it was EVERYWHERE. And huge. Seriously ugly. On top of this I had major black circles under my eyes and I am pretty sure my face was swollen. And since I hadn't been feeling very well I don't think I had cleaned up the eyebrows for a bit. Paints a cute picture right? I am not much of a sleeping beauty anyway, but I truly woke up looking like death had knocked on my door.

It was serious motivation to shower, do my hair and put makeup on...even if I felt yucky.

Too see the silver lining in all of this I am really glad that I don't usually look quite that bad in the morning. If I did I would feel really bad for Nate. It would be like waking up to a nightmare every morning.

I have been wanting to change my look and this all gave me the motivation to do it. So...I cut bangs. Yes I totally went back to the blunt bangs. Just like I had in 8th grade. (Except this time I think it is a little more stylish...I hope) And guess what- I LOVE it! It does make me look younger, which may or may not be a good thing. I don't have a picture yet. But I will get one up soon. Think Reese Witherspoon or Kate Hudson.

So here is to no more deathly looking mornings!:)

Sewing Tutorials

Thanks for the sewing project ideas from many of you. After googling the ideas I found this blog with all the tutorials rounded up into one place. The button up shirt to toddler dress is a pretty cool transformation. Good thing there are creative people out there because my little brain would never be able to come up with this stuff. But I am a good copy cat. So if you need any cute and easy girly projects here is a great website-

http://www.sewmamasew.com/blog2/?p=212

Sorry I don't have any boy ideas. Those projects aren't as easy to find.

Sewing Obsession...

I decided to try sewing a few months back and I am addicted. I am not the fastest sewer so I haven't made that much yet. Mostly because I can only sew when the little one is sleeping. But I have big plans to make more. I want to attempt some frilly dresses. The red polk-a-dot shirt that Cambri has on was my first project. I actually had to figure out a way to alter the shirt because Cambri's head was too big and I couldn't get it on her. She gets the big head from her dad:). Hopefully it comes with big brains. It turned out cute but you can't look too close or else you can see the many imperfections.
This little skirt was my latest project. I think it is super cute on her. Don't mind the laundry in the back ground. I have to wait for Cambri to go to bed to fold the laundry because she finds it rather fun to unfold everything. BTW miss Cambri is 11 months today. She is so close to walking but doesn't really have the desire or confidence yet. Today she stood for about 5 seconds on her own but she always sits down once she realizes she isn't holding onto anything. I am kind of glad she isn't too anxious to grow up fast.

So far I have only conquered skirts. I am not sure if I dare try pants or anything with a zipper. Buttonholes are no problem though because my new sewing machine is awesome and does it for me. I love my sewing machine.

I got the pattern for both the skirt and shirt from this website www.oliverands.com. It isn't the cheapest but the patterns are so cute. They have a fun blog that I check often. There are a few other patterns I hope to try. I also want to try and make window treatments. My aunt makes all her own stuff and I love it. I just wish fabric wasn't so expensive.

If any of you have fun sewing projects I would love to hear about them.

Oh yes, one more thing. I am in love with the Spring weathr we have been having! The last few days have been glorious. It is so much easier to get up and moving when the sun is shining, the birds are churping and the flowers are in bloom. We survived yet another long dreary winter!

I survived...

(Jess, Annie, Caleb, Amanda and Megan)

FYI-Annie beat all us girls and she is 5 months pregnant. Her biking skills were far superior to mine.

Today was the big sprint triathlon. And yes I did survive, but barely:). In truth it was fun, but I was soooooo unprepared for the bike ride. Who knew that 18 miles on a bike could nearly drive me to madness. I was for sure it would be the swimming that would kill me. For those of you not familiar with Iowa terrain, it is all about the rolling hills. Whoever made up this course found about every hill possible for us to ride.

First of all I used my mtn. bike so I looked like such a nerd. But at least I could use it as an excuse as all the other riders on fancy bikes with fancy gear flew by me. Seriously there were a few that went by so fast I thought it was a car coming up behind me. I had to have looked like I was having a hard time because every person that passed me would cheer and say "you are doing great!" One guy even asked if I needed anything so I really must have looked like I was dying. Apparently I wear my emotions on the outside. There were quite a few times as I started trudging up another hill that I just thought "you have got to be kidding me". And there were a few times I was worried that I had taken the wrong path because I couldn't see anyone in front or behind me. Fortunately it was a very pretty ride through the green fields.

By the time I got to the run I really couldn't get my legs to move fast. I was warned by everyone that the bike to run transition was the hardest part and they were right. I have no idea how anyone does an Olympic triathlon. The thought of running a half marathon after the killer bike ride is not appealing at all.

It was fun to cross the finish line and see Nate and Cambri cheering for me. I am glad that they came because that is what kept me going to the end.

If I can get Nate to do a triathlon with me we just might sign up for one later this summer when we are in Utah or Idaho. I would love to train for one with him. If you would have asked me during the race I would have told you there was not a chance I would do this again, but I really think this might become of little summer hobby of mine.

Thanks to my cheering squad! I love you!

Sorry for the lack of pictures. We used or video camera to take the still shots and our computer is too old for the memory card so I can't get our pics off of it. As soon as I get the rest I will post them.

Because I am crazy!

A while back I blogged about participating in the Dam to Dam race here in Des Moines. Well...when I started doing my training my knees totally gave out on me. As soon as I run more than 3 or 4 miles they ache like crazy and give out on me when I try to walk up and down stairs. I decided that it probably wasn't worth it just to prove that I could do it.

So instead I have decided to do a sprint triathlon. Only problem is it on May 2nd and I just started training for it this last Monday. That gives me a whopping 2 weeks to prepare. I went swimming for the first time on Monday and it nearly killed me. I swam down and back and thought I was going to die. This could be a problem considering I am supposed to swim down and back 10x for the race. Luckily there are no technicalities about how you swim and I am pretty good at the doggie paddle. So one way or another I will get from point A to point B. If I wasn't so competitive it wouldn't be a big deal. I don't expect to win, but I want to be good. I have this same problem with tennis. I really like playing tennis but I am not good at it. I get frustrated very quickly and start trying to kill the ball. And that just makes me more mad. But I am going to try really hard to put my pride aside and control my competitive side and just aim to finish the triathlon. I have a feeling it is going to be a matter of survival as I am gulping for air in the pool so I don't really think I have much of a choice but to eat my pride. I am a little concerned as to how I am supposed to get on a bike for 18 miles and run for 5K after being completely demolished by the pool. But hey it is just fun and games right? Kind of crazy that I am paying someone to do this to myself.

If anyone wants to join me you still have a week and a half to get ready:)

Lets just hope I don't come in very last! (Not that there is anything wrong with that).

Here are some random pics of our visit to Utah-

Our cute baby girl on Easter afternoon.


I always knew that I would love being a mom but I never knew that I would find so much joy in such simple everyday things. I love that she sleeps with her bum in the air. I just can't get enough of it!

This is for Chels. Jake is just too cute!

We discovered sugar free suckers. They are still super messy but what a life saver. I will be using them on any future plane rides

Cambri helping me unpack the suicase.

I can't believe how big she is getting. Everyday gets more fun! She is starting to grow some hair...yeah! It is a pretty auborn color. I love it.

First time for everything...

A friend of mine that I work with invited me to her birthday celebration last night and the activity was...pole dancing. Yes you read that right. It was at one of those fitness studios that offers the pole fitness classes. Honestly it was so fun! I was really shy about it at first but then once we started busting out all the tricks (like spinning on the pole, hanging up side down, and doing hand stands) I was all about it. And yes it is a great workout. If it didn' cost $25 a class I would be all for taking up this hobby. I guess I will just have to install my own pole in our apartment:) Anyway, I highly recommend you give the pole dancing a try.

Look at those shoes. If you take a look in the background you can see that I am a bit overdressed. The instructor had on fur leg warmers that were pretty cool.

Megan has got her sexy back!:) Seriously I was anything but sexy. It was hard to not laugh the whole time.

I think you are supposed to make it look more natural and easy than this.

We did learn a little dance to take home for the hubby:). Leann is next to me. She was the b-day girl. She takes the class on a regular basis. She knows some pretty cool stuff and obviousy came dressed for the occasion.

I might have to get som of those shoes if I do invest in a pole.

My goal is to be able to do stuff like this...

and this...

or this...

I probably don't have a future in pole dancing, but it was a fun night.