Well again Jim's job has changed a bit and again the responsibility has also increased. Jim was a division conroller in charge of the Cessford plant that his company aquired and lets just say that it has been keeping him busy. Recently, one of the other division conrollers left the company and unfortunately they are not going to replace her. Instead they have taken the remaining 3 controllers and split their jobs by material as opposed to being split by company. Now, Jim is in charge of all asphalt and asphalt production. Another is in charge of concrete (his job changed very little) and the other person is in charge of something else (not sure what).
Luckily for Jim he did lose a few things from his previous duties, not so lucky, he aquired quite a bit more. Hopefully the transition goes well for him.
Jim's sister, Barb, also made a job change recently. She has been a physical therapist with Mercy Hospital for 12 years. With this she was stuck on a rotating schedule of weekends and holidays (that would drive me crazy!). She recently accepted a job offer from Methodist Hospital as a physical therapist but it is a Monday to Friday job. Congratulations to Barb, she makes the big move late June and here's hoping it's great!
Friday, May 30, 2008
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Congratulations Emily!
Last Thursday Emily graduated from high school. For most of us this is a given, for Emily is was a feat. Not because she is unintelligent, but because she has had to face things that would seem foreign to most of us. She has worked SO hard, far harder than many of us have ever worked. This past year alone she has worked 2 jobs to equal full time so she can provide insurance for herself and Kameron, gone to school, been a full time Mom, and provided completely for herself and her son.
There have been people in Emily's life who have told her she wouldn't make it, and those of us who have always told her she would. She worked hard and she did it. Not only did she graduate, she did so with honors, awards, scholorships, and the respect of her teachers and peers.
Attending her graduation was amazing. I have never been to a high school graduation that was so touching and heart felt. The ceremony is small, about 65 kids from her school (its an alternate high school from the main one). Emily got the chance to speak and she did an awesome job. The subject of her speech revolved around the saying "Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass, it's about learning to dance in the rain." For most of these kids that is something they need to be reminded of often.
Everything about the ceremony was fantastic. The principal's talk was great, you could tell her emotional and invidual connection with many, if not all, of the students. The teachers also had amazing things to say. There were tears many times but nothing compared to handing out the roses. Each student was given 5 white roses to give to the people who made a difference in their life, people who they could not have done this without. Needless to say I was very touched as Emily came down and handed me one of her roses.
I have always been there for Emily. She has become like a little sister to me. I always tell her to remember that my expectations of her aren't high, I just expect things when others in her life may not. She has so much potential and it was great to see that be recognized that evening. As they announce each graduate they list the awards and scholarships they have achieved upon graduating. Emily's list was long, far longer than any of her classmates. Some of them she knew about, others were a surprise and it was awesome to see her reaction.
Congratulations Emily, you did amazing!
There have been people in Emily's life who have told her she wouldn't make it, and those of us who have always told her she would. She worked hard and she did it. Not only did she graduate, she did so with honors, awards, scholorships, and the respect of her teachers and peers.
Attending her graduation was amazing. I have never been to a high school graduation that was so touching and heart felt. The ceremony is small, about 65 kids from her school (its an alternate high school from the main one). Emily got the chance to speak and she did an awesome job. The subject of her speech revolved around the saying "Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass, it's about learning to dance in the rain." For most of these kids that is something they need to be reminded of often.
Everything about the ceremony was fantastic. The principal's talk was great, you could tell her emotional and invidual connection with many, if not all, of the students. The teachers also had amazing things to say. There were tears many times but nothing compared to handing out the roses. Each student was given 5 white roses to give to the people who made a difference in their life, people who they could not have done this without. Needless to say I was very touched as Emily came down and handed me one of her roses.
I have always been there for Emily. She has become like a little sister to me. I always tell her to remember that my expectations of her aren't high, I just expect things when others in her life may not. She has so much potential and it was great to see that be recognized that evening. As they announce each graduate they list the awards and scholarships they have achieved upon graduating. Emily's list was long, far longer than any of her classmates. Some of them she knew about, others were a surprise and it was awesome to see her reaction.
Congratulations Emily, you did amazing!
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Lots of Busy Weekends
As with many of us our weekends fill quickly with quite a lot to do. The weekend before Mother's Day kicked off a run of busy weekends for us. Jim's Dad and his wife Linda came into town that weekend so we could all help honor Harry for 35 years of refereeing and umpiring for Iowa highschools. Harry, Linda, Barb, Jim and myself were all able to attend a nice banquet in Ames, there were a few people being honored for 35 years and 2 or so being honored for 50 years, although there were other honorees there. It is amazing to think of working so many years and working so hard, everyone was proud of him.
While Harry and Linda were in town we had lunch at our place and we were able to show both of them all the changes we have made in the house. It was looking a whole lot better from the last time Jim's dad saw it. Jim, Harry, and Barb also put up our garage door opener that Barb got for us as a house warming gift. I wasn't able to help much because I had a couple of photo shoots that weekend but they went very well. The garage door opener works great and makes using the garage a whole lot easier, that for sure!!
The next weekend, Mother's Day Weekend, Jim's mom came into town. Her and Barb spent time together Friday and until Saturday evening, then they came over for dinner at our place. We also had Jayke over for the weekend so we had quite a group. We grilled ribs along with other goodies, then we played Wii and watched a movie. We were also able to show Joy our home for the first time which was exciting. I think she liked and now she will have 2 choices of places to stay when she visits!! The following day we headed to church for the Mother's Day service, but they were inducting a new minister so it ended up being different than a regular service but it was still nice. We all headed to lunch before Jim and I went to meet Chelsea to drop off Jayke. He was so good and so awesome all weekend. We certainly love him!
Last weekend I headed to Omaha to celebrate my Mom's birthday and Mother's Day with her. A couple of years ago we were able to do that and it was a lot of fun so it was nice to have another Mom and Mandy Day. We did some running, some shopping, we headed to the Dodge House which was a lot of fun, and just had a good ol' time hanging out. I think my brother and sister liked me being able to see their softball games and I liked it as well. I stayed through the weekend to see my cousin Nicholas graduate high school and then headed home to spend Sunday night with Jim before he had to head to Salt Lake City for the better part of this past week.
This week has been pretty chill for us. It is nice to take some time and just relax. I am taking a Photoshop class which began this weekend and Emily's graduation party but other than that we have been able to take it easy. I was pretty excited on Saturday evening because my friend Melissa who lives in Chicago but I spent time with in China was passing through Des Moines on her way back to Chicago and so we were able to meet and have dinner. It was a blast! I miss having some of my good friends around sometimes, that is for sure! We have some more busy weekends coming up very soon so we better enjoy this break!
While Harry and Linda were in town we had lunch at our place and we were able to show both of them all the changes we have made in the house. It was looking a whole lot better from the last time Jim's dad saw it. Jim, Harry, and Barb also put up our garage door opener that Barb got for us as a house warming gift. I wasn't able to help much because I had a couple of photo shoots that weekend but they went very well. The garage door opener works great and makes using the garage a whole lot easier, that for sure!!
The next weekend, Mother's Day Weekend, Jim's mom came into town. Her and Barb spent time together Friday and until Saturday evening, then they came over for dinner at our place. We also had Jayke over for the weekend so we had quite a group. We grilled ribs along with other goodies, then we played Wii and watched a movie. We were also able to show Joy our home for the first time which was exciting. I think she liked and now she will have 2 choices of places to stay when she visits!! The following day we headed to church for the Mother's Day service, but they were inducting a new minister so it ended up being different than a regular service but it was still nice. We all headed to lunch before Jim and I went to meet Chelsea to drop off Jayke. He was so good and so awesome all weekend. We certainly love him!
Last weekend I headed to Omaha to celebrate my Mom's birthday and Mother's Day with her. A couple of years ago we were able to do that and it was a lot of fun so it was nice to have another Mom and Mandy Day. We did some running, some shopping, we headed to the Dodge House which was a lot of fun, and just had a good ol' time hanging out. I think my brother and sister liked me being able to see their softball games and I liked it as well. I stayed through the weekend to see my cousin Nicholas graduate high school and then headed home to spend Sunday night with Jim before he had to head to Salt Lake City for the better part of this past week.
This week has been pretty chill for us. It is nice to take some time and just relax. I am taking a Photoshop class which began this weekend and Emily's graduation party but other than that we have been able to take it easy. I was pretty excited on Saturday evening because my friend Melissa who lives in Chicago but I spent time with in China was passing through Des Moines on her way back to Chicago and so we were able to meet and have dinner. It was a blast! I miss having some of my good friends around sometimes, that is for sure! We have some more busy weekends coming up very soon so we better enjoy this break!
Wednesday, May 07, 2008
House Updates
Jim and I have been working on the house quite a bit since we moved in. I thought it was about time to post some before and after shots!
Living Room Before
Living Room After
Main Level Spare Bedroom Before
Spare Bedroom After
Bathroom Before
Bathroom After-just cleaner really!
Stairs Before
Stairs After
Outside Before (in the fall)
Outside After (this spring!)
Living Room Before
Living Room After
Main Level Spare Bedroom Before
Spare Bedroom After
Bathroom Before
Bathroom After-just cleaner really!
Stairs Before
Stairs After
Outside Before (in the fall)
Outside After (this spring!)
Thursday, May 01, 2008
Last Frost....Hopefully!
Monday night was hopefully the last frost we will see this season. Of course I am a plant newbie and we have a super ton of landscaping in the front of our house with beautiful spring flowers ready to bloom any second and I was very nervous that we would lose it all. A teacher I work with was telling me all about covering my plants and why and with what. She insists that you should never use plastic, only cloth such as old sheets and whatnot.
Of course Monday night Jim and I both brought home tons of work to do so when we finished that up at around 9:30ish I convince Jim that we still need to go cover the plants, I would hate to lose them the first year before we even get to see how well the yard looks in full bloom. I gather every extra sheet, pillow case, sham, blanket and one old towel. With that we managed to cover all of the blooming beautiful things in our front yard.
Of course Monday night Jim and I both brought home tons of work to do so when we finished that up at around 9:30ish I convince Jim that we still need to go cover the plants, I would hate to lose them the first year before we even get to see how well the yard looks in full bloom. I gather every extra sheet, pillow case, sham, blanket and one old towel. With that we managed to cover all of the blooming beautiful things in our front yard.
Friday, April 25, 2008
Wisdomless
Well yesterday I had my 3 remaining wisdom teeth removed. All in all the surgery went well. I was there and in the office at about 8:20ish prepping for the anesthesia. Let me tell you, this is the part I as most nervous about. They started by giving me gas and after a couple of minutes on it I was laughing hysterically and I didn't know why. I kept apologizing to the nurse for laughing because I was so confused as to why I was rolling in the chair, especially since she was trying to check for a good vein for the IV.
I tend to have trouble with IVs and having blood drawn and all of that jazz because my Dad has blessed me with small collapsing veins. I had a bad experience the last time I had an IV during a CT Scan, they tried in both arms and couldn't get it, put it in my hand and thought they had it and then pumped damaging fluid into my muscle and tissue. My hand blew up the size of a softball, no joke. So that experience fuels my nervousness. I explained this to the nurse and she checked both arms and decided on the left one. She stuck it in, it hurt, then she wiggled it, that hurt more. When she wiggled it I was surprised and sort of whimpered out loud, then she freaks out, yells at me "Do not Scream!! There are other people in here! Do not be loud!". So I tell her not to make it hurt. I could tell she was having a little trouble. Even after she had it in place and all taped down she had to readjust the whole thing because it wasn't flowing well enough. Eventually it was all in place although I probably asked her 15 times if it was in my vein cause I was so worried.
The doctor came in and started administering the medicine through the IV. I felt good but I wasn't completely out. They tell you that you are not unconscious even when people feel like they are they will still do what they are asked to do (open wider, move your jaw, etc..) and they said it effects everyone differently so that was part of what I was worried about. I remember everything I just didn't feel anything. I remember the shots and the doctor "wiggling" my teeth. I say that because I thought he was just wiggling to get them looser then he was going to pull them, but after wiggling he said, ok they are out. I remember laughing and calling him a liar, and he said nope, they are out. I said, geez that took like 5 minutes. The nurse said snottily "I was here and it took more than that". It couldn't have taken too much longer because I was in recovery for awhile then in the car and ready to go by 9:40.
Yesterday was pretty good. I was numb until early evening and ate some soft foods (pudding, applesauce, soup). As I regained more feeling it became more painful of course. I took some pain meds throughout the evening and into the night. I slept very little though. I have been up since shortly after 4am and I was up off and on before that. I am sure I will sleep later and I hope so cause I am beat. The pain isn't horrible, but my throat hurts, which they said could happen.
Anyhow, I am in for a restful weekend hopefully, it's supposed to be pretty rainy and blah so it should be a good weekend for it.
I tend to have trouble with IVs and having blood drawn and all of that jazz because my Dad has blessed me with small collapsing veins. I had a bad experience the last time I had an IV during a CT Scan, they tried in both arms and couldn't get it, put it in my hand and thought they had it and then pumped damaging fluid into my muscle and tissue. My hand blew up the size of a softball, no joke. So that experience fuels my nervousness. I explained this to the nurse and she checked both arms and decided on the left one. She stuck it in, it hurt, then she wiggled it, that hurt more. When she wiggled it I was surprised and sort of whimpered out loud, then she freaks out, yells at me "Do not Scream!! There are other people in here! Do not be loud!". So I tell her not to make it hurt. I could tell she was having a little trouble. Even after she had it in place and all taped down she had to readjust the whole thing because it wasn't flowing well enough. Eventually it was all in place although I probably asked her 15 times if it was in my vein cause I was so worried.
The doctor came in and started administering the medicine through the IV. I felt good but I wasn't completely out. They tell you that you are not unconscious even when people feel like they are they will still do what they are asked to do (open wider, move your jaw, etc..) and they said it effects everyone differently so that was part of what I was worried about. I remember everything I just didn't feel anything. I remember the shots and the doctor "wiggling" my teeth. I say that because I thought he was just wiggling to get them looser then he was going to pull them, but after wiggling he said, ok they are out. I remember laughing and calling him a liar, and he said nope, they are out. I said, geez that took like 5 minutes. The nurse said snottily "I was here and it took more than that". It couldn't have taken too much longer because I was in recovery for awhile then in the car and ready to go by 9:40.
Yesterday was pretty good. I was numb until early evening and ate some soft foods (pudding, applesauce, soup). As I regained more feeling it became more painful of course. I took some pain meds throughout the evening and into the night. I slept very little though. I have been up since shortly after 4am and I was up off and on before that. I am sure I will sleep later and I hope so cause I am beat. The pain isn't horrible, but my throat hurts, which they said could happen.
Anyhow, I am in for a restful weekend hopefully, it's supposed to be pretty rainy and blah so it should be a good weekend for it.
Saturday, April 19, 2008
We LOVE Spring Clean Up Days!
Thank goodness for spring clean up/large garbage pickup days! Without them we would still be unable to park in our garage, but now we can pull all the way in, close the door and everything!
We put out the carpet that we ripped out, the countertops that we ripped out, along with oodles of crap that was found as the snow melted around our yard including tons of ocky kids toys, an old hanging swing all rotted out, a random barrell with a water pump attached to it, 3 basket ball hoops, 1 backboard and one basketball hoop pole with stand. We also got rid of the old owners old nasty microwave, scraps of wood, and pretty much just crap. It is so nice to be rid of trash that was never ours. Again, thank goodness for large garbage pickup!!
We put out the carpet that we ripped out, the countertops that we ripped out, along with oodles of crap that was found as the snow melted around our yard including tons of ocky kids toys, an old hanging swing all rotted out, a random barrell with a water pump attached to it, 3 basket ball hoops, 1 backboard and one basketball hoop pole with stand. We also got rid of the old owners old nasty microwave, scraps of wood, and pretty much just crap. It is so nice to be rid of trash that was never ours. Again, thank goodness for large garbage pickup!!
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Wintery Spring Weekend
On Thursday night I called my sister to see if Jim and I could have Jayke for the weekend, we like having him come and hang out with us since he is just so awesome. Chelsea and I agreed to meet Friday afternoon. When she picked up Jayke from daycare she told him he got to go to Auntie Mandy's house and he was pretty pumped. Of course he told Chelsea that he also got to see Jim, Odie, Boomer and Milo then he looked at all of his friends and said excitedly, "I get to go to my Auntie Mandy's!!".
I picked him up Friday at around 1 and he came to work with me that afternoon. He loves coming to work with me cause he like to "play with the kids". When the bell rang for school to get out he looks at me and yells "The kids are coming! The kids are coming!" and he runs to go meet them. He especially likes one of my boys, Mark. He will ask over and over if he gets to see Mark and then he will tell me that Mark is his best friend (although the best friend changes through the weekend, it can also be Odie, Jim, Boomer, or just simply all the animals).
Saturday we went to pick up an ijoy massage chair that Jim and I purchased cheaply off of Craigslist. Jim had been wanting one for quite awhile, he even wanted to register for one for the wedding but we didn't. So when I saw this one for sale the guy said make me an offer so I low-balled it and he took it. I was SO excited to get it for Jim! We had to drive to Newton to pick it up but it was totally worth it, it works great and feels fantastic.
We also ran some errands on Saturday and let Jayke play in the mall play center which he always loves. That was good too since when we woke up on Saturday it was snowing, a lot. We got at least 1/2 an inch on the ground and it still snowed all morning! Jim went to grab the car before we left the mall since it was pretty cold and while Jayke and I waited in Sears he picked a couple of "tractors" that he decided should be his and he asked if he could have his picture taken by them so I obliged.
Sunday we ran to Walmart and he got to ride the horse, which he loves. Then on our way to meet Chelsea we stopped at the McDonalds play place because he had been begging to go there. Of course while we were there he would not climb up into anything, he just ran around and jumped on the bottom of the slides. Silly Kid! We were late meeting Chelsea because I give in when Jayke says "come on Manny, just 2 more minutes".
I picked him up Friday at around 1 and he came to work with me that afternoon. He loves coming to work with me cause he like to "play with the kids". When the bell rang for school to get out he looks at me and yells "The kids are coming! The kids are coming!" and he runs to go meet them. He especially likes one of my boys, Mark. He will ask over and over if he gets to see Mark and then he will tell me that Mark is his best friend (although the best friend changes through the weekend, it can also be Odie, Jim, Boomer, or just simply all the animals).
Saturday we went to pick up an ijoy massage chair that Jim and I purchased cheaply off of Craigslist. Jim had been wanting one for quite awhile, he even wanted to register for one for the wedding but we didn't. So when I saw this one for sale the guy said make me an offer so I low-balled it and he took it. I was SO excited to get it for Jim! We had to drive to Newton to pick it up but it was totally worth it, it works great and feels fantastic.
We also ran some errands on Saturday and let Jayke play in the mall play center which he always loves. That was good too since when we woke up on Saturday it was snowing, a lot. We got at least 1/2 an inch on the ground and it still snowed all morning! Jim went to grab the car before we left the mall since it was pretty cold and while Jayke and I waited in Sears he picked a couple of "tractors" that he decided should be his and he asked if he could have his picture taken by them so I obliged.
Sunday we ran to Walmart and he got to ride the horse, which he loves. Then on our way to meet Chelsea we stopped at the McDonalds play place because he had been begging to go there. Of course while we were there he would not climb up into anything, he just ran around and jumped on the bottom of the slides. Silly Kid! We were late meeting Chelsea because I give in when Jayke says "come on Manny, just 2 more minutes".
Sunday, April 06, 2008
Yay for Yardwork
Saturday was quite the day for yardwork at the Davis house. Jim, his sister, my friend's mom Kathleen, and I all spent about 6 hours working on the yard. Kathleen knows a ton about plants and mentioned some things the last time she was here so I asked her to come help us out and I am so glad she did. Our front yard is full of intricate landscaping and she really helped me learn how to maintain things each spring and each fall.
To start with there was A LOT of cleaning out to do since no one was here to do any maintenance this past fall. We trimmed everything up so it was ready for spring growth and Jim and his sister raked up all the leaves in the backyard. Pretty much all of the mulch up front will need to be replaced but we won't start that for the next couple of weeks because so many things are still coming through. It will be exciting to see how things grow and come up in the coming months!
We had gotten a leaf blower/vac/mulcher at menards and it was working great, until it broke of course! So there are still a few piles of leaves in the backyard that need to be bagged and some more raked around the swingset but we were beat by the end of it all.
To start with there was A LOT of cleaning out to do since no one was here to do any maintenance this past fall. We trimmed everything up so it was ready for spring growth and Jim and his sister raked up all the leaves in the backyard. Pretty much all of the mulch up front will need to be replaced but we won't start that for the next couple of weeks because so many things are still coming through. It will be exciting to see how things grow and come up in the coming months!
We had gotten a leaf blower/vac/mulcher at menards and it was working great, until it broke of course! So there are still a few piles of leaves in the backyard that need to be bagged and some more raked around the swingset but we were beat by the end of it all.
Vet Visit
On Friday I had to take Odie to the vet to get updated on his vaccines and for his wellness check. We got a welcome packet when we moved to Urbandale and one of the items was a certificate to a local vet who I had heard good things about, so we headed there.
Odie always loves his leash and loves car rides so he was pretty pumped when we left the house. Things changed the minute we went to walk into the vet's office. I opened the door and he knew immediately where he was. He tried to run away and I had to try to coax him back, I was pulling the leash trying to get him to come in and he would not budge. Finally I had to pick him up and carry him in.
While inside he just cowered next to me in the waiting room shaking like a leaf. When it was our turn to go in things didn't get any better. The Vet opened the window to let in some air since it was so nice out and Odie tried to get out through the window, although the screen stopped him. He was very apprehensive and as a precaution the vet decided to muzzle him, which I was not a huge fan of, but I had never seen Odie act this way and I didn't know what his previous experiences were like at a vet's office so I understood.
Finally he was being examined and still not liking it much. They had to draw blood to test for heart worms, which he didn't have. All the while he had already went numbers one and two on the table. The vet responded with "good, we needed a fecal sample". After the blood draw he thought he was done and freaked out again and peed and pooed all over again. Then he had to get his shots, and again tried to get away after they were done and in doing so he peed and pooed yet again. That time the pee got all over my leg and shoe, and the poo was diarrhea since he had little left in him to be going. Then he got his bottom all in the nasty stuff so they had to carry him back to wash him off. It was all pretty traumatic for him.
Of course when they were all done and him and his leash were back in my hands he was fine, all smiles ready to trot out.
Odie always loves his leash and loves car rides so he was pretty pumped when we left the house. Things changed the minute we went to walk into the vet's office. I opened the door and he knew immediately where he was. He tried to run away and I had to try to coax him back, I was pulling the leash trying to get him to come in and he would not budge. Finally I had to pick him up and carry him in.
While inside he just cowered next to me in the waiting room shaking like a leaf. When it was our turn to go in things didn't get any better. The Vet opened the window to let in some air since it was so nice out and Odie tried to get out through the window, although the screen stopped him. He was very apprehensive and as a precaution the vet decided to muzzle him, which I was not a huge fan of, but I had never seen Odie act this way and I didn't know what his previous experiences were like at a vet's office so I understood.
Finally he was being examined and still not liking it much. They had to draw blood to test for heart worms, which he didn't have. All the while he had already went numbers one and two on the table. The vet responded with "good, we needed a fecal sample". After the blood draw he thought he was done and freaked out again and peed and pooed all over again. Then he had to get his shots, and again tried to get away after they were done and in doing so he peed and pooed yet again. That time the pee got all over my leg and shoe, and the poo was diarrhea since he had little left in him to be going. Then he got his bottom all in the nasty stuff so they had to carry him back to wash him off. It was all pretty traumatic for him.
Of course when they were all done and him and his leash were back in my hands he was fine, all smiles ready to trot out.
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