Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Guest blogger: Quinn

Hi, everybody! It's me, Quinn, filling in for Mommy. If you didn't know, Mommy isn't feeling too well lately! She had a bad infection in her mouth and had to get two teeth pulled. Daddy has two girls in the house that are not eating solid foods!

I thought I would take this opportunity to give you an update on me!

~I am now weighing in at about 14 lbs., so I have doubled my birth weight. I LOVE to eat and get very crabby when I have to wait for milk!
~I am such a good sleeper. I have been sleeping through the night for a while now, which makes Mommy and Daddy very happy. Most nights I go to bed around 9:30 and wake up around 5:00. Sometimes, though, Mommy and Daddy have to come and wake me up so they can take me to "school!"
~I love my friends at day care. I am the littlest one and the big kids think I'm pretty cute.
~My current hobbies include listening to my parents read (they read me baby books and they read to me from whatever books they are reading), going for walks, kicking my legs and waving my arms as hard as I can, laughing and smiling, and going with my parents on adventures like out to eat, to friends' weddings, to the mall, the Drake Knapp Center and more! I even got to go to a bar in Waukee with my mommy because she had a work function there! I have been lots of places and am very well-behaved in public.
~I do not love to take baths. My parents bathe me a few times a week. It's nice to be fresh and clean, but baths are really not my favorite.
~I still like snuggles, but am getting more independent and good about playing on my own. My favorite snuggle time is right away in the morning, after breakfast.
~I can roll from my tummy to my side or from my back to my side! I will be rolling circles around my fur-brother, Cooper, in no time.




Kisses and smiles to you all!


 - Q

Sunday, May 23, 2010

Lazy Sunday...

Pomp & Circumstance

This past Sunday, I graduated with my masters. It was a very exciting day! It was the culmination of 2 1/2 years of very hard work. I feel so proud of myself, especially since I graduated with a 4.0, which is better than I ever earned in high school or during undergrad. I don't know yet what my next career step is. I'll keep you posted!

Hooray for being done with school for a while!

Saturday, May 15, 2010

20 things...

I am feeling open today! So...20 things you may or may not have known about  me.

1. I think 8th graders are hilarious. Remember when you were 14? I laugh out loud every single day. I love the fact that most people would hate my job.
2. Growing up with two teacher-parents, I swore to myself I'd never be a teacher. Huh.
3. Peanut butter = amazing. I've been known to go through a family-sized jar of Natural Skippy on my own in a week. Trigger food, anyone?
4. Favorite colors = black and kelly green. I'd prefer to only wear those two colors, but I suppose variety is the spice of life.
5. I hate wearing jeans. I don't like how they look on me and I think they are wicked uncomfortable. I prefer to wear dress clothes or yoga pants.
6. I hate parking cars. For some reason, it's really hard for me. Also, I'm terrible at it. Huh.
7. I vacillate between being incredibly messy (see purse, closet, other private places) and obsessed with neatness (see classroom on a good day, or house when I've got the energy). I don't love to clean but I love to pick up!
8. I try not to end sentences with prepositions. See #7 for grievous mistake.
9. I still remember most of my Spanish verbs!
10. I don't love to travel. I think I mostly hate un/packing, so when I travel I'm either still stressed from packing or irritated about having to unpack in the near future.
11. My least favorite body parts are my legs. I have never been a fan of them. This is why I wear high heels to work most days.
12. I eat a yogurt, a piece of fruit, and something "extra" every day for lunch. This has been a pattern for about 4 years now.
13. My husband was not even kind of interested in me when we first met (reconnected, rather). He told me once that he thought I wore too much makeup, kind of like Mimi from the Drew Carey Show. Possibly true.

I was the pursuer. It took me several months to get him convinced, but here we are!
14. Whenever I carry cash I feel like I have to spend it right away. I am glad for debit cards!
15. I do not like wearing socks. The only times I wear socks are if I work out or if I am around the house in the winter or at my parents' house, which is a constant 45 degrees year-round. Exaggerating, but not by much. Love you, Cathy and Jeff!
16. I am moody and introverted like my dad. I inherit my love of naps and personal space from him.
17. I love everything having to do with reading. Before Quinn was born, I read 3-4 books per week. I read anything and everything and love every second of it. I must have a book with me at all times.
18. I wear size 11 shoes. I think my long feet are elegant and look great in shoes, but it is incredibly hard to find shoes in regular stores. Hello, Zappos!
19. I always knew I wanted to be a wife and mom, even though some of the choices I made earlier in life might not have reflected that.
20. My husband and I are BFF. We do almost everything together and love every second of it. We are wildly different and eerily similar at the same time. Somehow, it all works. We have a million inside jokes and crack each other up constantly. We also understand almost nothing about each other's jobs. 


What are 20 interesting things about you, friends?

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Mother's Day/Grad. Research/Daddy

Let me fill you in on my past weekend.

On Saturday, I presented my research for graduate school! Everything went great. I passed! I am so excited to have my masters degree. I actually started in the spring of 2008 so it has been a 2 1/2 year process. I got two additional teaching endorsements in the process, so I have just been going to school nonstop for what seems like forever. You're welcome, Drake. :-)

I didn't get any photos of me doing my research, but here is me before I left. Incidentally, this is the dress I wore to my high school graduation (sans cardigan). What's old is new again!

The next day was Mother's Day! My first...loved it. We went to church the night before so we got to sleep in a little bit and relax! Randy, Quinn, and I went to Pizza Ranch with our friends Brian and Lindsey.
Finally, I just want to share some pictures of Quinn and her daddy. I feel like they have such a sweet, special relationship. Not surprisingly, Randy is a terrific dad and has been a godsend during what was a stressful, busy spring for me.

Visitors!

Several weeks ago, my old :-) college roommate, Katie (Leick) Fleming was in town and dropped by. She lives in South Dakota now with her cute little family! It was so nice to see her and to catch up. I feel like I (and many other people) am so busy and it seems like friendships suffer, which is really too bad. I also got to meet Katie's sister-in-law, Maggie, who will be moving to and working in the metro!

Thursday, May 6, 2010

old and new

 I keep hearing this Dave Matthews song and it reminds me so much of Randy and me, especially the second verse, which I pasted below.  I have also included a picture of us from every two years of our relationship.



You and I are not tied to the ground
Not falling but rising, like rolling around
Eyes closed above the rooftops
With eyes closed we're gonna spin through the stars
Our arms wide as the sky we're gonna ride the blue
All the way to the end of the world
When the kids are old enough we're gonna teach them to fly

You and me together
We can do anything baby
You and me together yes yes
You and me together
We can do anything baby

                                                               Randy & Jill, 2004


                                                           Jill & Randy, 2006



                                                             Randy & Jill, 2008


                                                       Jill, Randy, & Quinn, 2010