Coach design contest.

Took a nice creative break today to enter this contest. Please vote if you think it's good! I LOVE COACH!

Design a Coach Tote Sponsored by Coach

back to routine.

Well, the weekend is over. Dakota is finally napping, and so is Jared before he has to go into work for his night shift. This weekend was a lot of fun with Grandma and Grandpa Osburn. Dakota was spoiled and now the fun is over. I unfortunately had no time to work on my business, but such is life. I plan on getting the website ready to launch before July 22, 2008. We shall see what I get done tonight. Crossing my fingers.

Unfortunately, I have ZERO pictures to share with you all from this weekend. We were too busy shopping for Dakota's entire fall wardrobe :)

Happy Anniversary to me.

Well, I get to deal with some fun stuff on my anniversary. While Jared is sitting in lecture, no doubt bored, I get to deal with....





Yep, you guessed it...

FLEAS.

Last night, I saw one hopping around on Addison's belly. I thought no big deal, dogs get a flea, whatever. This morning, I saw TWO FLEAS on her belly. So I immediately went into freak-out mode. Addie has now had a bath, a haircut, another bath and her flea, tick and heartworm medicine. After I wrote this post, I am headed to the laundry room with her pet bed.

AND NOW MY HEAD ITCHES.

Yay for anniversaries!

Tomorrow, Jared and I will be celebrating our 4-year anniversary. We are very excited! Celebrating an anniversary is better than celebrating a birthday. You get to celebrate with the one you love. I can't believe it's already been 4 years. Time flies, really.

Dad is driving down as we speak and mom flies in Friday. Tomorrow night, Jared and I are going to hit Uptown (a trendy restaurant+bar+nightlife area near downtown that we love) and enjoy a nice meal out and drinks afterwards. We are really looking forward to it, since we really haven't had a date night in quite a while. We'll also hoping to sneak out Saturday night super late to catch the new Batman movie while everyone at home sleeps. And what's even better is Jared has the weekend off! YAY!

New venture.

Well, I am slowly emerging from my cave I like to call my office. I've been up until the crack of down (okay, not really, but super late) working on my business. Setting up my website. Getting samples together. Brainstorming ways to advertise. The legalities. You name it. When I put Dakota down for the night around 8, I immediately lock myself in my office with a Coke and a handful of Jolly Ranchers and go to town. I am super, super excited about this business venture, and I can't wait to share it with you all once it goes live. This business is exactly what I have dreamed of: combining my quirky writing skills and my love for graphic design, all while bringing a smile to someone's face. My goal is by Friday to have the website up and running. I have to go register with the county and fill out a "Doing Business As" application, but that will have to wait a few weeks until I get A. my new social security card B. my driver's license C. the form. It's been a lot of work trying to figure out each and every logisitic of how this business is going to work, but no one said it was going to be easy. Stay tuned....

A good weekend.

Despite a few minor hiccups (Erin ruining her bathroom rugs and Jared taking a dip in the pool WITH his cell phone), we had a great weekend. It was nice and relaxing and great to have Jared home for a few days. This should be an exciting week - Grandma and Grandpa Osburn are coming to visit and we will be celebrating our 4 year anniversary!

hooray for weekends!

This weekend is very exciting. Jared has today, tomorrow and Monday off! He heads back Monday night for his first overnight shift. We are really looking forward to a nice, relaxing weekend. I have spent the past few nights working on my business until the wee hours of the morning (and now have roughly 48 + ounces of caffeine in my body) and Jared has been working really long, tiring shifts. Jared was able to sleep in this morning, which was nice. Then, we helped Dakota with her very first tooth brushing! She has 2 teeth now, and they recommend you start the habit early, so here she is, brushing away! Jared is playing golf with Scott and then we are grilling steaks (yum!), shopping off fireworks (yes, from the 4th) and I am making some peach cobbler. I plan on having a nice, refreshing mojito tonight. Tomorrow we will probably do something fun as a family and Monday we are going swimming! I love weekends when Jared is off. Have a great weekend!

today.

today I have a new outlook. back to normalcy. and back to business. now I just need a babysitter so I can work on the business. HA.

I think D and I are going to head up to the library after she eats her fruit. It's free! And will kill time until Dad gets home around 1 today. YAY!

a high note to a crappy day.

You know how you can just tell it's going to be an off day? Like nothing really goes right and it seems as if everything is fighting against you? That was today. I knew it was going to be that way when I couldn't sleep last night. Jared was running late this morning and he still was fighting that stupid cold. My new phone wouldn't read my micro card and Dakota was to fighting me to eat. I was a little emotionally annoyed about my work/hobby situation. Nighttime was a little rough. Dakota had a really hard time getting to bed, I really just wanted to relax and watch SYTYCD, Jared was way late and I had no dinner plans. Finally, at 8:30 I laid Dakota down and she didn't fight the sleep. Just a few short minutes later, Jared called and was on his way home. I don't give my husband enough credit where credit is due. He is literally my rock. I am so blessed to have him as my teammate and husband. He knows just what to say, even when he is ending a 14-hour shift dealing with sick patients and telling one he has cancer. The first thing he told me was how the brownies were a huge hit at the hospital and all the nurses loved them and couldn't believe how good they were. That was nice to hear. He then proceeded to talk to me about my struggles with finding work. And like the supportive, caring husband he is, reassured me that I could do anything I set my heart on and to go for it. So that's what I'm going to do. Thanks also to everyone that gave me some encouragement today. It really helps to have friends and family lookin out for me. It turns out my life isn't bad at all. I am very blessed and lucky to lead the life I live. Loving family, friends who I can turn to at any time, a great husband, a beautiful daughter, 2 fun doggies and lots of laughter. And an opportunity to stay at home with my daughter and raise her to be an awesome, caring and passionate person as a full-time job. And lots of creative ideas to boot. Good night!

think time during baby nap time.

so...yeah. the preschool music teacher thing didn't pan out. shocking. they have daycare, but for 12 months and up. oh well. but the good news? i was told to keep them in mind "next time". What?

i'm done with the countless hours of job searching online. i am done applying to copywriter positions, rambling off my qualifications and then sneaking in the line "oh by the way, I would like to work from home and part-time, please" in small, fine print. Welcome to the 21st century, employers. Good Lord, it's not that complicated.

i have so many ideas of what i want to do to make money. i've done cakes. i've schemed blogs. i've started a marketing business. i've done articles. i've started writing a children's book. i've made onesies. i've designed business cards. i've created scrapbooks. i'll think i'll just blame it on my crazy creative ways. i have so many wheels spinning in my head and i love doing them all, it's hard for me to choose.

so it's time to really crack down. our family needs the money. i need the creative outlet. soooooooooooooooo...back to work!

what do you guys think? can i do more than one thing? can I have more than one profession? what should i do?

new blog.

so...i've started a new blog. i have so much to share as a mom: recipes, products, bargains, deals and "momisms". I'm hoping to earn a few dollars with advertisements and trafic to the blog. Hopefully, a few people will be interested in what I have to say. If not, it will be fun anyway.

Click here.

will work for food.

Everyday, I search online for a perfect opportunity where I can work from home making a small amount of money to support our family. It's hard. I have pretty impressive qualifications in my field, but no one really loves the idea of part-time from home. Today, I have applied for a part-time (9 hours) preschool music teacher at a local church. It would be so fun but I'm not sure what I would do with Dakota. We will see if I hear anything....

I also applied to be a blog writer with my very own motherhood blog. It would be perfect.

Getting all geared up to send out my freelance copywriting letter to some local companies. It's hard tracking down contact names and addresses for the companies I want to email my resume to. I think I'll take a break and clean up the house and make dinner. I'm really hoping Jared gets off on time today. Rrrrriiiiigggghhhhtt.....

t-mobile saga.

Well. I was willing to accept the $9.95 shipping charge. I really was. Until I went in there today to find a case for my phone. And the lady told me told me to "just call customer support and they will wave it for you". So, I called. I mean, I might as well try to make back $10 today, right? After speaking with 3 representatives, I finally reached the big supervisor. And I think I got the lady at the store in trouble, because it is "not procedure to remove the shipping fee". But alas, he did it for me. Awesome.

the big wide world of blogging.

So today has been a little overwhelming. In my few minutes of down time, I have started researching more about how you can make a few bucks blogging. From Google AdSense to reviewing products and linking them to your blog, there are millions of opportunities to earn a little extra cash. Hmmmm.........

Day 1: Success!

So, it's 8:45 and I can successfully say I have spent $0. Okay, well not technically...I had to fuel up on the way to Scott's, but that was a necessity. I managed to score some free lunch at Dickey's BBQ (thanks Scott!) and we had a great time swimming.

The afternoon/evening proved to be a bit difficult. For some reason, Dakota kind of had an off day so it was a challenge, but we made it through! With no impulse buys online. And I got my new phone, which was a plus.

Onto day 2....

My reward.

If I can make it through the work week not spending any money, I am rewarding myself with this over the weekend. Ice cream AND Girl Scouts thin mint cookies? A perfect match. It looks amazing!

have it your own way.

So, recently I 've been slacking on making Dakota's food. I was doing most of it myself before the big move and then it got busy so the jars were easy. Well, I'm back onto making my own. It is soooooooo easy and so much better for her than those jars packed with preservatives. And not to mention much cheaper. Anyone that says it's hard doesn't really know what they are talking about, or can't use a stove, not sure which. It does take some time. But by "time" I mean about an hour. It's a perfect Sunday activity when you are getting ready for the week ahead. I have Jessica Seinfeld's book "Deceptively Delicious" and I pull ideas from there. Currently, I have butternut squash in the oven.

Easy steps:
1. Buy a butternut squash.
2. Cut off stem.
3. Cut squash in half, lengthwise.
4. Scoop out seeds.
5. Place halves on baking sheet, flesh down.
6. Bake in oven at 400 degrees for 40 minutes or until soft.
7. Blend in food processor.

Next on the list today is sweet potatoes, green beans and mixed veggies.

a challenge.

After discussing my recent purchases, it's time to shift gears. Today, I have decided to give myself a challenge. It's going to be a really difficult one for me, but I'm excited to try it. If all goes well, I think I will do it one week out of every month. We'll see how it goes. Yesterday, as Jared and I were discussing our financial situation, it hit me. It's not so much bad that I don't have an income, but it's rather my spending that is going to get me in trouble with staying at home. DUH. If I don't spend money, I don't need to make money. I mean, yes, there are things we need to buy. Gas to get around. Groceries to eat. Dog food. Electricity. Water. The staples. But, I do not need to go shopping every other day and find it necessary to buy a new clock for the office or a new dog collar. Dakota will survive without those cute pink sunglasses and probably will never even know when she is 30 she didn't get them.

So, after this morning of grocery buying and picking up some formula, (and one more last Starbucks drink) I have hereby halted the money spending for the entire week. No shopping. No Starbucks. No shoes. No cleaning supplies I don't really need. No candles. No fast food. No Coach wallets. You get the point. Instead, good old fashioned fun. There is plenty to do that is free.

I figure the best way to survive the week is to plan ahead. So tomorrow, Dakota and I will be headed to the pool at Scott's to swim. Tuesday, we need to be here to await the UPS man with my new phone, so I'm planning on DVR'ing Diego and Dora. Wednesday, we are headed to the library to pick up some books and hopefully a few kids movies. Thursday, Jared has the afternoon off so I plan on using the fireworks we didn't use on the 4th. I have bubbles so we can play outside and swing. I plan on baking some cookies for Jared to take to work. And tackling the huge pile of laundry in the bedroom. Taking the dogs on walks. Cooking and trying a few different recipes.

It should be interesting....wish me luck.

splurge. last one for a while.

This past weekend, my good shopping pal Darci and I ventured to the Outlets in Allen. Our first stop was of course the new Coach outlet. Amy and I have been in much anticipation of it opening ever since we saw it was coming the spring of 2008 online about a year ago. I drool everytime I'm in there, and yes, I'm a conformer to society, becoming infatuated with those little C's that cost such a pretty little penny just because someone decided to say they were cool so everyone wants one. So kill me. The fact is, yes, everything in the store is pricey, but I love it. Good quality product and carrying around a handbag or wallet you just are in love with...well, there is nothing better. I am a sucker for handbags and wallets. Sorry. Call it a downfall. I could be a sucker for cigarettes, so it could be worse.

As we were browsing the goodies, I came across a wallet in the 50% section. There was ONE. Sitting all by its lonesome. I quickly checked the tag, wondering what the damage was. Every other bag or wallet I had looked at gave me severe sticker shock. It was a good sized wallet so I thought there was no way. The original sticker price...well, let's just say it was in the triple digits. But then, I noticed the glorious handwriting in red ink...marked down to double digits...and then...looking up, saw it was marked 50% off. It couldn't be true! I quickly tracked down an associate and I think she was a little frightened by my mad dash at her to ask, "Is this really 50% off???? There are no more like it, it was the only one over there!" She saw my excitement and walked over to the section. Looking around, she proceeded to tell it was in fact 50% off and that I had found a really great deal, there weren't anymore left. She even looked in the drawers and found nothing. She said, "Don't put that jewel down!" Thinking to myself, are you crazy? No way. I had a death grip on that thing. I think she was a bit jealous she didn't see it first.

So long story short, it's mine. I look at it all day. Everytime I get out my wallet to pay, I smile. It is so cute and it makes me feel happy. Yes, it's a wallet. I know. But it's the little things in life, right? I will probably use it until it starts literally falling apart. Here is a picture of my little feel-good.

shoes.

Okay, so I showed everyone the precious Chucks at gap.com I wanted to buy for Dakota. Well, I haven't got the money right now to justify $25 on a pair of shoes she is bound to grow out of in a month. Not yet ,anyway, until I get some freelance work going. So, I opted for these two pairs instead on clearance at Target. These two totaled about $8.50. A steal of a deal. I thought the brown ones would be super cute for fall. And yes, I'm discussing shopping on my blog. If you don't like it, don't read it. I enjoy shopping and finding good deals make me happy.

4th of July blues.

Darn. Dakota's first 4th of July was not really one to remember. She got a cold. It kind of started the night before, but we thought it was probably either her allergies or that second bottom tooth coming in. The morning was a bit hectic, trying to get Jared out the door (he had to be at work by 11), packing dinner, making lunch, etc. I was able to snap this picture before Jared ran out the door to try and capture some memory of the 4th:

Notice the smile on her face, because it quickly disappeared. Darci and I tried to make the day exciting, so we got ready to go eat lunch and get a few small fireworks. We got some snakes, smoke bombs and sparklers and headed to lunch. Lunch was CRAP. That's okay, it wasn't going to ruin our day. A few days ago, I had purchased a inflatable pool for her to swim in in the backyard. I felt really darn bad for her because she was getting noticeably sicker as the morning progressed. So I decided to return the pool since she couldn't even enjoy it being sick and managed to find a cool table toy. Which she loved. For a few minutes.

The poor girl was so sad. She would cough, then her nose would run. Then she had a stuffy nose.

She finally went to bed around 6:30. No fireworks. A pretty sad 1st 4th of July. But luckily, today, she feels a lot better and I can tell the cold is leaving. Thank goodness!

Cracked-out Blackberry.

So, this morning...as I was reading an email....my phone just decides to freeze up. The screen goes black and the little white pearl is glowing all by its lonesome. I take out the battery, charge the phone, try everything. Nada.

I proceed to load up Dakota (not what I wanted to be doing this morning!) and head over to T-Mobile. Thankfully, the store is not very far from our house and it was empty. She tests my phone, and I was just waiting for her to say, "I'm sorry, you are no longer under warranty and your phone is dead. You will have to buy a new one." But instead, she proceeds to tell me that it's not my battery, and the water damage signal is not showing, so behold! I get a new phone! After of course I have to jump through more hoops and call the specific Blackberry tech support.

I managed to weasel my way into getting a white one (hopefully: fingers crossed!) because I'm a little burnt out on the red. I am still a little annoyed because even after my great haggling skills, I had to pay $9.99 plus taxes (thank you) to have it shipped. In 7 days. Because I didn't opt for the warranty. Oy. Whatever. Just send me my dang phone. Luckily I still have my good ole trusty pink Razr. It's kind of nice going back to basics, although texting now is a little slower than usual. Gotta get used to it on this phone again.

In other news, Jared had a great first shift yesterday for those who were wondering. He worked from 7 a.m. until about 8 p.m. but he said he didn't mind the 12 hour shift. He said it was great to be in the ER and I got an email at about 5 p.m. stating he loved his job! So that was a positive. He also told me last night it was pretty cool to hear over the intercom system: "Dr. Schreiner, paging Dr. Schreiner to the front desk" and also thought it was cool that nurses were asking him for approvals. Finally, the hard work is starting to pay off! Today may be a different story, though, as he may get yelled at by an attending claiming he is a stupid intern. Who knows. But still, it's pretty cool to see him excited about being a doctor. It's been a long time coming. (And he looks pretty cute in his black scrubs that say Dr. Schreiner Emergency Medicine on them.)

I am getting ready to go pick up my good friend Darci from the airport. She is here until Saturday and I'm sure we'll find plenty to do to cause some trouble. i.e. lots of Mexican food, Ikea and Coach outlet shopping.

Have a safe and great 4th, everyone!

WIPEOUT = GREAT SUMMER TV.

Everyone should tune in to Wipeout on ABC tonight....8/7 c. It's good, clean family fun and last week Jared and I laughed our butts off! The writing is fabulous.

http://abc.go.com/primetime/wipeout/index?pn=index

80's flashback, anyone?

This was one of my favorite commercials growing up. I loved it and probably always begged my mom to buy the cereal. Ah, good marketing at work....

splurge?

I know. $25 for a pair of baby shoes. You are kidding, right Erin? Well. Not really. These are so precious, I just might have to purchase. But I probably won't. But I want them! They are Converse All-Stars from the gap! Wouldn't Dakota look so cute in them?

Creative space.

For those who haven't seen the office/craft space, here is a picture of my set-up. I love it!

Bedroom.

Here is the master bedroom. We had to do dark on one wall to save a lot of time and hassle trying to cover up the old green. I love the way it looks, very "airy" and nautical.

paint pictures

Here is a picture of the guest bedroom. We finished it last night, and I am really excited about the results. We were a little bit nervous about getting that line perfect, but decided if it didn't come out great we would put some crown moulding up there. Well, it came out perfect! It's definitely a little um...lively, but we love it. Now all we need is a new ceiling fan to replace "Stumpy" and a new nightstand to replace the one we have from the 70s.

We've gone paint crazy!

Over the weekend, Jared and I decided to take on a few paint projects. There are so many things we want to do to the house with unfortunately limited funds. Painting is an affordable way to spruce up the house and make it our own. So that's what we are doing.

The master bedroom got painted a light blue on 3 walls and a dark navy on the wall that was dark green. Jared painted all the trim with a fresh coat of white and it really makes the room so much nicer!

We are currently painting the guest room. We are doing "Jalapeno Red" 3/4 up on the walls and then a "Dark Ash" (aka gray) on the top. We wanted to be a little creative with this room, so we'll see how it turns out. We are also going to do the guest bathroom the same gray that is in the bedroom.

After those two locations are painted, we are moving on to the dining room. We had almost a gallon of brown leftover from our old place, so we are going to use that. Then it's the kitchen. Currently, our countertops are dark green so we are kind of limited with colors in there. I'm thinking of going with a very light, light dark green. Last, and certainly not least, we will tackle Dakota's room. What color you ask? DUH - PINK!

I'll post pictures of our progress.

work. work. work.

I've been busy today continuing work on my website as well as getting my online portfolio set up and freelance letter written. It's a long process. Having too much past work that I'm proud enough to post is a good thing, I suppose. Sites coming soon....

Advertising: my passion.

Today, Jared got off early which allowed me to get out of the house and work on my marketing business. It felt really good to really get down to business and try to get myself back into my career. Don't get me wrong - I love my job as a full-time mom/bird wrangler, but I also love advertising. I am excited to get back out there and start doing some of my own work. So, I'm also going to start using my blog to post some hot marketing that's out there. Commercials. Ads. Radio. Even BAD marketing. Here is one to get the creative juices flowing. I love this commercial. Totally non-related and random, but great nonetheless. Enjoy!

The Birds

Never seen the movie, but I've heard enough to know my life is living it. Last night, while Amy and Scott were babysitting, Amy told me she thought Layla killed a bird. I brushed it off, thinking I'm sure she just went after one. This morning (conveniently after Jared left, of course) Layla HAD to go outside. I let her out while I took care of Dakota. She scratched at the door wanting in, I walked over, and there she was, looking at me with a DEAD BIRD IN HER MOUTH WANTING TO BRING IT IN AND SHOW IF OFF. I screamed, told her to drop it and she ran inside, all muddy. Pushing away the mental picture of a dead bird on my porch in my head, I quickly gave Layla a bath, trying to wash the rabid bird germs off her body. There was no way I was going to allow her to give me a kiss anytime soon!

I called Jared on his way into work. He told me to get his gloves, put it in a bag and throw it in the trash can. Then he decided he didn't want the trash stinking, so instead, to toss it over the fence. I got off the phone with him and had to pump myself up for a good 3 hours before I went out to complete the task. Well, long story short, the bird is now resting peacefully over the fence. And I need a new bottle of soap since I used the entire thing aftewards.

Now I have the nest in the front to deal with. The baby birds have decided to take up flying for the first time and keep knocking their bodies into the glass window above the door. OY. Maybe if I get lucky, they will just kill themselves so I don't have to bury them in the back.

Dakota saying hi to Da Da

Hairspray!

Last night, Jared and I had a date night! It was very exciting. Aunt Amy and Uncle Scott came over to babysit and we went to dinner with Jared's old roommate, Kris who is touring with the Hairspray tour playing bass. We had a nice time with him, catching up and talking. He got us great seats, too! We were at Dallas Music Hall in Row F! That is the sixth row, for those of you who are wondering, and the show was really good. I had seen the movie, but the musical was of course better. It has a great story line and uplifting and happy feel to it. Highly recommended if it comes to your city!

My Flickr Mosiac

This is really cool. I created a mosaic from flickr. You should do it too. It's kind of like an personality photography montage.

Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search. Using only the first page, pick an image. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into fd's mosaic maker.

The Questions:
What is your first name?
What is your favorite food?
What high school did you go to?
Who is your celebrity crush?
What is your favorite color?
Favorite drink?
Dream vacation?
Favorite dessert?
What you want to be when you grow up?
What do you love most in life?
One Word to describe you.
Your flickr name

My answers (whatever came to my head the fastest):

What is your first name? Erin

What is your favorite food? cookies

What high school did you go to? Seaman High

Who is your celebrity crush? James Dean

What is your favorite color? Pink

Favorite drink? Dr. Pepper

Dream vacation? Bahamas

Favorite dessert? pie
What you want to be when you grow up? writer
What do you love most in life? laughter

One Word to describe you? creative

Your flickr name? jalee

A few more pictures.

You will never believe this...

You guessed it. Jared got home early today and as we were sitting playing with Dakota, Layla was obsessively barking at the front door. Like to the point where she was shaking and freaking out. So...I went over to investigate. NON-STOP CHIRPING. There are birds that live up high on our awning, but this bird was much, MUCH closer. So I went out through the garage to find I KID YOU NOT the SAME exact baby bird that Layla had attacked earlier that day. I couldn't believe it. I stormed inside, telling Jared all about it. His response? Good material for your blog. So, here it is. Jared scooped it up with gloves and set it in the yard. Who knows what will come of this bird tomorrow....

Key Lime Pie Ice Cream Sandwiches

I borrowed this recipe from a friend from Jared's med school class. She always posts some yummy recipes on her blog. I tried these when the kids were here and Miranda helped me make them. They were quite tasty! Perfect, light, cool treat for summer. Kids love them, too!



Key Lime Pie Ice Cream Sandwiches

3/4 cup fresh squeezed lime juice (2/3 cup if using Key Lime juice)
1 cup half-and-half
1 cup skim milk
Pinch of salt
1 can (14 oz) fat-free sweetened condensed milk
Zest of 2 limes
10 graham crackers, broken into halves

Whisk first 5 ingredients together in a bowl. Pour into ice cream maker and freeze according to your machine's directions. Stir in zest at end of freezing cycle. Spoon into a freezer safe bowl and freeze for 45 minutes. Place 10 graham cracker halves onto individual pieces of plastic wrap. Scoop 1/2 to 2/3 cup of ice cream onto each graham cracker and cover with another graham cracker half. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and return to freezer. Freeze for several hours. Enjoy!

Palm Tree Goodness

Here is a picture of our new palm tree. It looks so cool! I need to add some type of bush or something behind it where the landscaping trim is. We couldn't put the tree there because of the gas line.

New items on the left...

If you will see, I have posted some of my favorite links/blogs on the left. More to come.

The Antisdel Abstract is my BFF since the age of 5, Kim.
The Tangled and True blog...wow. I thought I was crafty and creative. This girl juggles a full-time job, mom of 2 and manages to bake and craft her way into craziness. Pretty cool.
The last one is my delicious links...a bookmark organizer site that keeps track of all my favorite spots online.

Bird attack!

After breakfast, I decided to try and get some work done. I am making a list of local ad agencies and sending my resume to try and get some freelance copywriting work. I brought my laptop out to the patio. Grabbed a cold soda. Put Dakota in her swing. Let the dogs get some air and run around a little bit.

I was ready to work. But Mother Nature had other plans.

As soon as I put Dakota in her swing, Layla found a bird perched on our fence. Great. She started barking at it, and I thought it would easily fly away and I could get to work in peace and quiet. But alas, no. Not in our backyard. The bird fell off the fence and onto the ground. At that point, I knew it was toast. Clearly unable to fly (it looked pretty small, probably a baby) it ran to the corner of our yard where there are some leftover fence boards. Unfortuantely for the bird, Layla can still get through. No longer able to see Layla, I hear mad chirping sounds and Layla rustling back there. As I scream at Layla to "LEAVE IT!" Dakota starts crying. I can no longer help the bird.

The bird runs out of the fence boards and then gets tag-teamed by Layla and Addie as Layla starts biting at it and attacking it. I continue to scream at Layla as the bird runs to the other corner of our fence and tries to escape, but doesn't make it. I run over and stop Layla, and the bird becomes lifeless and flips over on its back, blinking its sad little eyes. Blink, blink. Blink, blink. Since Jared is busy with orientation, I call my dad. He knows I am an animal lover and tries to make me feel better by telling me it's mother nature. So, I let the dogs back in the house and let the bird rest there until Jared gets home to deal with it.

I just went back out there to see what was going on, and the bird is gone. Maybe it was really playing dead?!?!

The victim:

The attacker:

this face

I decided to snap a few pictures of Dakota after her breakfast of oatmeal and pears. She was a ham for a good 10 minutes...

Then she got a little tired of it, but still a good sport....

Then she let me know in this picture she was over it....

Cover girl?

While working late last night, I came across an email I received a while back about entering my baby in Parents Cover Model Search. So, I thought...why not? It's probably a long shot, but it's fun to enter anyway. They choose 5 kids to fly to NYC and do a photoshoot in August. Then, they pick the winner and they get to be on the cover of Parents magazine in October. Comments and votes can be made for her here:

http://www.parents.com/app/sharemy/photoDetails.jsp?photoId=216301008

The votes people cast have no reflection on who is chosen, but it would be cool to have a lot of comments on her!

The flood of Cedar Rapids

One of my good friends from college and past roommate lives in Cedar Rapids. The floods luckily have not reached her house, but she is currently working from home right now since her employer is downtown. She sent some great pictures. It's weird to see a place you have visited surrounded completely by water. Pretty scary, yet also really interesting.

http://www.andrealynnphoto.com/CRflood2008/

Jared's new job!

Jared starts his orientation tomorrow at Parkland. I think he excited to get started (and also get out of the house!) The good news is, he also starts getting paid which a great thing! His first month is in the Emergency room, which is also really great. Hopefully, the first week goes well!

This week also starts life back to normal for Dakota and Erin. Regular naps, learning activities and I'm on the hunt for freelance opportunities to make a little extra moolah for the family.

Mint and peppers...and a palm tree!

This weekend, I made the jump and actually bought a few plants that will hopefully provide some delicious cooking opportunities. A green jalapeno pepper and a mint plant. The palm tree was a throw-in. I was very excited to get the palm tree, and Jared planted it in the front yard like a good husband. Hopefully it will grow big and tall and be the talk of the neighborhood. I planted the mint and pepper plants tonight, after I got attacked by a frog. Okay, not really, it just jumped across my hand, but I sure jumped out of my skin.

More family vacay

This past weekend, Jared's parents came down to visit with Jared's cousins Miranda and Jason. We did lots of fun things, including going down to the lake, Bass Pro Shop, Dallas Aquarium, fence work fun, shopping, golfing, xbox games and eating out. The kids were great - very considerate and helpful! Jason actually got to take two new pets home, two Texas Geckos yet to be named. Here are a few pictures from the fun weekend.

Family Vacay

These past few weekends was jam-packed with family visiting and fun. Last weekend, mom and dad were in town to see Amy before she leaves for London for 5 weeks for her grad-program. We did the normal family functions, including shopping, eating and hanging out. It was a good time. Here is a picture of the entire gang. This picture took a lot of effort, but I suppose it was worth it. Good times! Layla was actually the best attitude about the whole picture taking thing. She was very well-behaved!

Frogs! And yellow leaves :(

As I was cleaning up the house tonight, I decided to go out and water my rose. As I opened the door, Layla lept out as usual, but stopped dead in her tracks before I could even get out the door. A FROG ON OUR PATIO! I screamed, and without thinking, slammed the door, leaving Layla to brave the frog all by her lonesome. I turned on the light and became a cheerleader for my tough dog. She walks up to it, it jumps, she jumps higher. As she backs off, she barks and looks at me like LET ME IN YOU CRAZY LADY! The frog takes a jump closer to her, closer to the door. Not sure what to do, I just stare at Layla and start yelling. I get her attention, swing open the door and she high tails it in. I barely see her long tail get in the door before I'm slamming in shut. I guess the rose will have to wait for a drink until tomorrow....

Speaking of watering the greens, I apparently have a bad green thumb. The leaves of my flowers out back are turning yellow. Anyone have any suggestions? I'm thinking it's over-watering but not sure? The one I have inside is doing it as well. Maybe I have a poor drainage system? We won't even get started on my poor African Violet....

Teething just plain bites. But motherhood doesn't.

Teething is no fun for little babies. Dakota got her first tooth rather effortlessly last week. All of a sudden, a little white stump appeared on the bottom and we thought it was pretty darn precious. But the past few days, the unexplained crying and overall fussy little girl syndrome has been solved: teething. Lately, she has been forgoing her naps (unfortunately) and is having a tough time going down for the night. She has to be rocked, which is very rare for her. At times, I get a little frustrated, but I take a deep breath...

As I sit in the dark rocking her, I realize there won't be many more opportunities where she just needs her mommy, safe in my arms as she drifts off to sleep and I just have to smile and cherish those moments. She is really something special and I don't want her to ever grow up! Sleep tight, little munchkin. I hope tomorrow will be a fun day for you, I know it will be for me to spend another day with my baby. You are my special little girl and I love being your mommy.

Hosting a party

Jared and I decided to be brave and play host and hostess to the intern class at UT Southwestern. Boy, did we learn our lesson. While it was nice to meet 10 new Dallas residents, it was a lot to handle with 4 kids under 4. WOW. Let's just say the Schreiner house is not ready for a walking, grabbing child. After everyone left at about 9:45 and as Koty was falling asleep in daddy's arms, we felt as though a tornado hit our house. There were toys EVERYWHERE, brownie pieces all over our new rug, a deck of cards strewn across the living room, beans on the fireplace, sauce on our kitchen rug and the table looked as though a an ugly food monster had ransacked the place.

However, there are some really nice people in Jared's program. We are excited to get to know them more (outside of our house) and hang out with them more.

Swingin!

Dakota enjoyed the awesome housewarming present Aunt Amy and Uncle Scott purchased for her today...a swing!! As we suspected, she loved every second of it, even though she first got in it a little sleepy. She really loved it. She loves the wind blowing in her hair. And don't worry, for those who are wondering, yes, she has a hole in her sleeper, and yes, we bought her two new ones today! That Minnie Mouse sleeper is an oldie, but goodie!

A Fun Day with Family

Today, mom, dad, Amy and Scott headed over to enjoy some delicious Schreiner bbq! We enjoyed Jared's yummy ribs that were pretty darn tasty! I also slaved in the kitchen into the wee hours of the night preparing this delight:

Carrot Cake! It was my first attempt, and I was pretty satisfied with the results. As you can see with how much is remaining, I think it's safe to say everyone else enjoyed it as well! It was nice to get into the kitchen and back to what I really enjoy doing...baking.

Tomorrow, for Father's Day, we will be heading up to Allen to celebrate the dads in the family with Genghis Grill and perhaps some swimming. Fun!

new grill patio

Jared spent a day last week building a small patio extension out of brick squares for his smoker and bbq grills. He spent the majority of the day sweating and working hard, and all of his hard work paid off. I am very proud of his mad building skills and he looks so cute doing it! :)

hmmm...

which colors? I'm helping mommy pick paint colors...I think this green!

broken cables and a new business.

Sorry for the absence, friends. The Schreiner household had a small hiccup this past week. We decided to finally say hasta to Time Warner Cable due to their unsatisfactory customer service and poor HD line-up, so we made the switch to Verizon. They are supposed to come out and install next Tuesday. Yesterday morning, as I peered out my window while Jared was getting our Texas license plates, I see a Verizon truck and two guys working on running cable. As soon as they leave, my television stops working and my internet is just blinking on me. As I mumble a few cuss words, I get on the phone with Jared and tell him I think the Verizon people messed something up. He returns home to find they had literally cut RIGHT THROUGH the existing Time Warner cables. THAT WERE CLEARLY MARKED ALL IN OUR YARD IN NEON ORANGE PAINT AND FLAGS. Genius. So we had to call Time Warner with our tails between our legs and have them come out and fix it. TBD on if we are going to make the switch....we'll see how good of a deal they can come up with for that idiotic attempt.

It's not easy bein green.

Well. We painted the office last night. And it's very....green. REALLY green. But i think it will be a cool creative space for my crafting/scrapbooking/freelance writing. I am excited to get it all set up, but tonight we must apply a second coat after Dakota goes to bed. Our plan for painting includes our bedroom, the guest room, kitchen and Dakota's room. I really enjoy painting, but it's a lot of work.

Tonight, Jared and I are going to venture out and dine at Poncho and Lefty's. It's about a mile West of our house and it's always packed. Here is a link:

http://www.panchoandleftystexmexcafe.com/rowlett/index.htm

I'll keep you posted on my review of the place tomorrow!

First Swim

This past Saturday, we took a break from our usual moving in festivities and drove up to Uncle Scott's house to go swimming. This was Dakota's first swim -so it was rather monumental. I ran to Target before we left and stocked up on about 40 tubes of baby sunblock, (hey, you can never be too careful), a hat and a baby swim toy for her to sit in. We went to the new splash park which was perfect for her since it was about 1 foot deep. She loved it!!! Naturally. The girl is born for adventure. Dad got in with her and she loved to swim around in her toy. She thought she needed a bottle (it probably had to do with the 50 gallons of sunblock I applied all over her body) in the pool and after about 30 minutes, got a little tired. All in all, a huge success and we will be visiting the pool again shortly when Aunt Amy is home next weekend!

A hot Monday

As normal people headed back to work today, Jared and I continued work at home. Jared just about finished up the garage to where we can almost get the cars in. YAY! It's going to be a tight fit with 2 cars, but we will be able to make it. I went to Hobby Lobby in the morning and managed to spend a *few* dollars in the scrapbook section. Hey, everything is 50% off - can't beat that deal! Plus, I had to have some supplies to stock my craft area when it got finished. This craft room has inspired me to do some scrapbooking as a side business...so if anyone needs a cool memory book, let me know, I would be glad to make one for you instead of your pictures just sitting in a photo box getting ruined.

The remainder of the day, we went and bought paint for the craft room/office and a few flowers. I spent the hottest part of the day outside planting flowers. I will get a picture up here soon when I get it the way I want it. I also mowed the backyard, so finally, our backyard is becoming more of an oasis than a forest. Still got the birds, though. And a new frog in my rose bed. That thing scared the crap out of me when I went to lay down mulch. Apparently, Mr. Frog does not like mulch being thrown on his back and jumped up 5 feet right at my legs. Great.

Tonight, we are painting the office. Maybe. We'll keep you posted on that one...