Layla, our great hunting dog!

Last night.
Ready for bed.
Leave office, turn off lights.
Hear Layla in the living room, running around.
Turn on light.
See something on carpet.
Walk closer.
See baby lizard on carpet.
See baby lizard not moving on carpet.
See Layla wagging her tail, saying "aren't you proud of me mommy, I caught a baby lizard!"
Pick up lizard with paper towel, throw him out back.
Thank God for Layla, my hunting dog.

Same thing happens tonight. Luckily, Jared was the one to be involved. He let the dogs out, let them back in and closes the door. He feels something on his head, looks down, and a lizard scatters across the kitchen. He calls for Layla, who immediately runs over to sick the lizard. Lizard runs under the fridge. Jared pulls the fridge out and tells Layla to get the lizard. Layla runs behind the fridge, scoops up the lizard and proudly prances into the living room and puts him down on the rug. Jared walks over and lizard's tail falls off (it's their defense mechanism). Layla goes after the tail (it's still moving) instead of the rest of the lizard, who tears off under the entertainment center. Jared pulls out the entertainment center and Layla once again retrieves the lizard and brings it to the middle of the rug. Jared scoops it up and throws him outside.

We are so proud of Layla!!!

I'm not a slob, I promise.

Just very....busy. Being creative.

I questioned whether to post this picture or not. For fear my friends and family might think that I have become a hermit, messy and not caring what the place looked like. But, I have decided to go for it. Who cares. So what, my office is a disaster right now. I have very good reason: I am planning a very important birthday extravaganza. But, alas, don't fear...a few of my goals this weekend include:

1. cleaning the office.

2. purchasing a new camera.

3. applying for jobs.

This anxiously awaited holiday weekend by so many employees across the country has left me and Dakota a little bored and non-excited. Jared works an overnight tonight as well as Monday night. Oh well, we shall get things accomplished! Go forth and clean, Erin!

On a lighter note, apparently the key to being a green thumb is being lazy. I went out back for the first time since I got back from Kansas, and it appears my mint plant has come back to life and in a big way and my pepper plant is taking over the entire garden. Oh, and half my rose is green! And what I thought was an ugly plant left behind appears to bud really beautiful bright red tropical-looking flowers. Cool!

Meet Margarita Casey!

The newest addition to our family, Amy and Scott's new puppy! It's a Morkie (a mix between a Maltese and Yorkie). She is precious and I get to go dog-sit tonight!

Just call me Martha.

I love being crafty and creative. It makes my world go 'round. Today, I started a list because I have so many creative projects going. Here are the things on my list:

1. Dakota's birthday party invites (check)
2. Dakota's tutu (gotta get it done in 1 month!)
3. Dakota's 1 year scrapbook (gotta get it done in 1 month!)
4. Dakota's party favor bags (more to come on this later)
5. Libby's scrapbook (so close to being done)
6. Maggie's blanket

Better get creating.

whoops.

So, it's been a while since I've posted. Sorry about that. Here are some of the fun things we have been up to since our return home to Dallas.

Sleeping:



Eating:



Staring:



Organizing:



Riding:

World Famous Topeka Zoo!

My week back in Kansas has been busy and has gone really fast. The theme of my week is squeeze. I have managed to squeeze a lot in in just a few short days and have a few more days left to squeeze in even more. Tomorrow, I am headed to Kansas City to squeeze in a lot of stuff. You get the idea.

Today, Grandpa, Dakota and I ventured to the World Famous Topeka Zoo! It was a lot of fun. Dad says he's not sure who had more fun, mom or baby, but I think it's a toss up. My favorite was the orangutans and sad gorilla, even though it made me sad to see him so bored. My least favorite part was the rainforest. I hate birds. We then lunched at BoBo's...yum!

Here are some favorite pictures from the adventure.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Colds, rain, expensive strollers and salmon.

Yesterday, the Schreiner family enjoyed a day with daddy home. Dakota woke with a runny nose and we thought it was just her allergies. Jared went to Walgreens to fill her script and we thought we were set. I was able to go the grocery store for a little break and was able to move through the aisles much quicker without Dakota. Jared was planning on mowing our forest, but alas, Mother Nature decided she would bring Dallas some much-needed rain yesterday. I think it was the first time it rained since we have moved here. Crazy.

We were planning on going up to Amy and Scott's to meet the new addition to the family, Margarita the Morkie, but Dakota got progressively worse through the day. She was cranky, stuffy, runny-nosed and rubbing her eyes like crazy so we decided to stay home.

Around 5, we got a little restless with the rain and overall laziness, so we headed up to Babies R Us to look for a new stroller. Our big Graco is great, but it is big. If we travel, it takes up most of our trunk space. We bought a cheapy umbrella stroller about 6 months ago to use on short trips. I find myself using this a lot more since she is getting bigger and there is more stuff to transport (it's also easier to push through aisles). However, Dakota HATES the thing. She squirms around and flips over and does anything she can to get out of the thing. I eventually end up holding her, trying to drive to the stroller and look at clothes at the same time, which is not very easy to do. I researched a lot of umbrella strollers, and of course, the one everyone said to get was the most expensive one out there. I thought nah, we don't need that one. Well, what do you know, that was the ONE STROLLER Dakota didn't mind being in at Babies R Us. I think that may be waiting until I get a scrapbook order or two :)

We came home and put Dakota to bed. Jared then made delicious salmon for dinner. I told him he needed to be chef more often! It was very tasty! But alas, he is back at work today so his life as a chef will have to wait.

Fun family time. Finally!

Yesterday, Jared got home after call around 2:00. Everyone was really excited to see him. We wanted to go do something fun, so we headed up to Central Market to buy a few grocery delights. The store is GREAT and has amazing fresh food. They make a lot of stuff in the store from aunthentic tamales to breads to homemade tortillas. They have a huge variety of wine, cheese and also have a condiments bar where you can fill your plastic containers with olives, homemade dips, salsas and guac. YUM!

We went home with a few cheese blocks, some fruit, a piece of salmon Jared is going to grill tonight and some salsas.

Here is Dakota outside the store on a giant eggplant. She wasn't so sure about it, but Daddy was there to assure her she was safe with him!

Potential job.

Now that I have fully launched my business and just applied for my official business license, a potential job has rolled in. Figures.

I told you all about going to meet with a creative recruiter here in town. There is an ad agency looking for a mid-sr. level copywriter and they submitted my portfolio to them. I got a call from my recruiter today and she said the owner thought I had an "interesting slant" to my writing and it was very "experimental". Whatever that means. She said he was really impressed with what he saw and heard (print and broadcast samples). This agency has clients such as Petmate, ColorTyme, Don Pablo, Taco Cabana, Rosewood Hotels and Anheuser-Busch.

He wanted to see if I wanted to meet with him and talk about a potential opportunity there. She was pretty sure he was wanting to bring me on full-time. They submitted me for freelance, so she said he might be open to that. She told me the salary range he could offer. And I must admit, it's pretty tempting. I told her I would meet with him, couldn't hurt. And then I hung up and walked out to Dakota munching on her animal crackers, thinking there is no way I could leave her to go work full-time. I can't imagine shipping her off to a daycare wondering what she was doing all day. But...we need some kind of income from me, one way or another. So we will see what he has to offer me. I'm really only open to freelance.

ANYBODY NEED A SCRAPBOOK?!?!??!?!?! They make great gifts! :)

i've got a good system going!

Last night, I stayed up to organize my "office" and also started on my first real business project! A scrap album. I am very excited to be actually working. In the mail today is my official "Doing Business As" form so I'm ready to roll with advertising! One of the first things I'm going to do is contact the local hospitals to see if I can put a flyer in the "mom" packets.

Yesterday, I managed to snag a great deal on a car seat for Jared's car, make brownies, M&M cookies and two pans of lasagna! I was on a roll. I feel like I'm back into my groove with keeping up on the house, laundry, meals, Dakota and work. Now I just need to make some money and we will be golden!

I also bought a few things for Dakota for the fall. I can't believe I am buying 12 mo. clothes! I am headed to Hobby Lobby today to start a fun sewing project. I'll be sure to post a picture when I'm done. If it looks good, that is.

New clothes!


Me and my puppy


See my teeth!?!?!?


Yum.

A trip home.

We just returned last night from visiting our old home - Overland Park, Kansas. We made a last minute trip up specifically to see Adam, Jared's brother and it was nice to see the family and spend time with everyone, even though it was a short trip.

We realized we miss:
trees
the small town feel of Kansas City
not having to drive 14 hours to get to Costco
Houlihan's
our church
familar faces
knowing where everything is
family

Jared had no break, as he had to be at work this morning at 7 and is on call tonight. I have a feeling tomorrow when he gets home he will be sleeping the remainder of the day. I was able to get to the grocery store today (Finally!) and actually have meals planned out for the week! Now if I could only tackle that dishwasher....