January 29

When I was a little girl I used to LOVE to go visit my aunt Sheila. She was, and still is a very cool aunt. She let Andrea and I play with her make up, she took us to see movies and we also did fun crafts together. One of the coolest things I did with my aunt Sheila was making my very first quilt. Looking at that quilt even now, I am amazed at what I did. So many tiny pieces went together to make a beautiful pattern and blanket that I still have today, almost 20 years later. In a few short days Aunt Sheila is going to take on a new title. Grandma Sheila. Grandma Dalene would be so excited for this milestone in her daughter's life, and so proud of the beautiful quilt that Sheila gave to her daughter in law at the baby shower. Grandma was a great teacher, and I am sure that Sheila has the special Grandma gene and that very soon one little boy is going to be very lucky.

January 28

I realized that miss Veda hadn't have an entry on my blog yet. Veda is my sister Andrea's baby girl, and she is about the sweetest, most easy going little thing ever!

Anyone can hold her, everyone gets a smile and just look at those beautiful eyes!

January 27

A sure sign that winter is on its way out...the view out our front door at 5:30 PM! It is SO nice to have even a tiny bit of daylight left when we get home for the day.

January 26

I am trying pretty hard these days to make healthy choices. Tonight's healthy choice was this this colorful salad. Not only did it fit the bill for a healthy choice, but a big garden salad reminded me of warmer weather. I can't wait for spring to get here!!!!

January 25

Tonight I participated in my first class at the gym. This was a big step outside of my comfort zone. A big step. But I really enjoyed it. Pilates in a nice dark room was just what I needed to find some peace. And I even got a muted chuckle in when the old guy down the row from me let one rip while in child pose.

January 24

Little miss is getting so big. She now demands a big girl cup, and when she is sitting down for dinner, we let her have one. What happened to my little baby?

January 23

I have been planning for a while to earn the Project Management Professional (PMP) certification. I expect to spend a lot of evenings studying this, my copy of the Project Management Body of Knowledge. I am not the best test taker, but I know that I can do this with the proper preparation, so here it goes.

January 22

I was happy to get a call from Clay this week asking for a baby sitter for Mabel on Saturday. We already had plans to spend the day in Lowden with Mom and Dad, and a little baby Mabel just sweetened the pot! I can see a bit of Leila in her, and looking at her reminds me of my own chubby little babies.

January 21

Girls night at the Coobs house! Daddy went out for work and so Leila picked what she wanted for dinner and I ate egg whites in an effort to start off the weekend on a slightly less fattening note.

January 20

Mr. Sawyer. Sawyer is my sister Andrea's son, and so far the only boy in the crop of Howard family grandchildren. I am more than happy with my sweet girls, and to be honest, I always wanted two girls, because the relationships I have with my sisters are so strong. I am so glad that we have Sawyer in our family. He is such a sweet loving little guy and he is always welcome at my house.
He calls me Trishy, and it is the cutest thing in the world. Love my little Sawyer Boyer, the token male! :)

January 19

On those days when I find myself close to bedtime and uninspired, I can always find a child willing to give me a big cheesy smile or two.

January 18

At Christmas time I told my Grandpa that Thea didn't have any puzzles, but I thought she might like some. He and Judy took my advice and bought her puzzles, as did a couple of other family members. At first I thought that our no puzzle problem had turned into a too many puzzle problem, but as it turns out, Thea LOVES puzzles. Every evening she sits with Cory or I and puts together puzzle after puzzle. She is getting very good at it!

January 17

Cory and I had a rare day off when we also had daycare available, and we used it! We filled our day by going to the gym and working out together, which I really enjoyed. We then went to downtown Iowa City where we had lunch in the ped mall and walked around during a beautiful light snow fall. I was kicking myself for not bringing my camera, as there were plenty of photo ops, and no kids to distract me. After lunch we made a couple other stops and then came home and scooped all of the snow together before jumping in the car to go pick the girls up again. So on a day filled with "free" time, a beautiful snowfall and a trip to gorgeous downtown Iowa City, I finally took a picture of Thea's new humidifier that we picked up during our day off. The poor child has such dry skin we had to do something new to help her. Maybe next year a whole house humidifier will be in order!

January 16

Leila made herself right at home at the boat show. She was a bit hyperactive and frustrating to deal with, but maybe it was just the cabin fever and the promise of summer days spent on the boat that had her worked up.

January 15

A tender moment captured between Daddy and his big girl.

January 14

First haircut of 2011. I have been making an effort lately to make sure that my face appears in some of our pictures, so I had my sister Cassie take a picture of me this evening.

I have never liked pictures of myself. For as long as I can remember I felt pretty negatively about the way that I look. Honestly, before I met Cory I couldn't imagine anyone really loving me. I really found myself and started to feel worthy and comfortable with myself when I was about 22. Even now that I am 30 I find myself hiding behind my children and using them to create my identity. I really started to notice this when I looked through my Facebook profile. My profile picture is nearly always a picture of one or both of my kids, because I would rather be identified by their sweet faces than my own imperfect mug.

It is time for me to work on putting forth the face that I want to be known for, and that starts by accepting myself.

January 13

I worked from home today...mostly to avoid having to dress up for a site visit by Senator Grassley. It is weird being at home alone during the day, the quiet is almost eerie and I miss my family even more than a normal work day. I did have one small companion, who did not leave my side all morning long. Either I put off just enough warmth or Zoey misses having me to herself.

January 12

Cory and I are on a fitness kick I guess you could say. I joined a gym in November and he followed suit before the new year started. We have a system worked out so we can both get our gym trips in, and I don't know about him, but I am REALLY enjoying it. An hour to do my own thing, push myself, and sweat in spite of the cold January air outside is great. The bad thing about January, is that everyone decides that they should join a gym so the weight machines can be a challenge to get any time on. In order to compensate for my missed ab exercises Cory showed me a couple of things that I can do at home. Exercising on the living room floor does have its own challenges though, like extra weight spontaneously appearing!

January 11

One of the few things that I make that everyone is pleased with is calzones. Or in Leila's case, meat baked into dough. I actually enjoy the process of making the dough, and rolling out each individual calzone. kneading and fighting dough into a perfect flat slab is a wonderful way to release stress. I have it down perfectly as far as who wants what. Lots of sauce for me, lots of cheese for Cory, not much of anything for Leila and a little of everything for Thea. This evening we had a couple extra calzones to add to the batch on Grandma Sandi and Papa Ed's last night staying us in North Liberty before the final trip to La Crosse for Sandi's surgery follow up, where the much prayed for results of "no further treatment, the cancer is all gone" was received. Our early celebration dinner was anticipated and enjoyed by all!

January 10

Thea came home from school with this in her hair. It is cute, and it makes me smile, and want to cry all at the same time.
This is the first time that I can recall Thea having her hair put up. What does this say about me? Blah. I am having a bad day, and I feel like my kid doesn't look as put together at school. They felt the need to do her hair. I suck. I never look put together either. Today is a big fat ugly blob day for me...but I feel especially crappy about that cute little pig tail.

January 9

Since Grandma Sandi's surgery last week we have had Ed and Sandi at our house. Grandma Sandi does a lot for everyone, especially Papa Ed, so it is good for her to get to relax and be the patient for once. Some extra benefits for everyone include quality time with our girls including lots of books, puzzles and even a trip to the movies with their Elkader grandparents. And for me? Papa Ed did the dishes! :)

January 8

Polly! I am happy to see that the girls are getting better about playing together. It makes for much more peaceful days for all of us. I do wish that boy Polly Pocket dolls were easier to come by because Leila and Thea have been fighting over the one boy in the house since Christmas!

January 7

Peekaboo!

January 6

Daddy has been gone for the last couple of evenings, because not only is he an amazing husband and father, but his also a pretty awesome son. My mother in law has had a couple of recent surgeries and other doctor visits in Wisconsin to treat breast cancer, and Cory has been at her side for each appointment and procedure. They left for Wisconsin before the girls were home from daycare on Wednesday and we were surprised to have them back in time for dinner tonight. The girls welcomed Daddy home with lots of love and Grandma Sandi is settling in to recover at the North Liberty Coobs home for a few days!

January 5

Fast food for a picky family after a long long day. At least the kids meal came with a cool toy.

January 4

A dark and crappy picture. We frequently experience some pretty annoying barking and carrying on from Zoey. She thinks that she owns everything in sight and she is a very intense guard dog. On this particular evening her barking was to alert me to the deer that were grazing in *her* field.

January 3

I love seeing the girls play with the toys that I picked out for them for Christmas. These snap'n'style dolls from Fisher-Price have been a big hit.

January 2

This was taken out of the car window, so definitely not a great shot. One of these trips I would love to stop and spend some time photographing the windmills, but this trip was not the time for that. I love them, I think they are neat to look at, and a very cool concept. Aside from that, they are a landmark that lets me know we are almost to Grandpa's!

January 1

Christmas with the Howard Family. Good times, good food and good conversation. I love my family.

December 31

Even with all of the new toys in the house, these stacking balls are a favorite. We got them for Thea for Christmas last year, but both girls have always really enjoyed playing with them. When I came downstairs from bed this morning I was struck by the colorful arrangement on the stairs. If I am going to have toys spread all over the house, at least these inspire a smile.

December 30

Another day of Leila art. When I picked Leila up from school today she grabbed this off of the table filled with random animal sculptures. Right away I knew it was a horse and Leila was very pleased that I could tell. It happened to have a Styrofoam egg stuck on its back. Leila told me that the horse was going to hatch a baby out of that egg. I have to say I was impressed with her creativity, even though she may need a biology lesson.

December 29

I felt terrible when Leila came up to me with a bag that she had brought home from pre school that I had promptly set aside and forgotten about. The bag contained a Christmas present that she had made for Cory and I. When she brought it to me I made a big deal about how I didn't know how we could have missed this present, and what a wonderful to treat to have one more present to open four days after Christmas! And it really was a treat. I told Leila that I would set it on the window sill over the kitchen sink so that I could put my rings in it while I washed dishes, and she was very excited that her special gift would have such a useful life in our house. She let Cory know that he could use it to put his ring in while he does dishes too (I wish! :)). It is a perfect gift, and in Leila's favorite color!

December 28

I am finally starting to get some things hung up on the walls in our house. This is my upstairs hallway, across from the laundry room. I spent a lot of time thinking about what I wanted to hang in this area, and I couldn't be more pleased with the way it turned out. Both of these pictures are from my grandparent's house in Tabor. The closer of the two is my Grandma Dalene, her sister and their grandmother. This particular picture is one I have been wanting for some time. A picture of my very special grandmother, with a grandmother that she had told me was very special to her.

The other picture is my Grandpa Warren with his brothers and sister. Another picture of someone very special to me, and yet so pretty and artistic. A perfect addition to my house.

December 27

It case you didn't know this about me, I am not a big fan of winter. But on this particular Monday, I couldn't have imagined a more beautiful winter scene then the one that we were living in. I was so taken by it that I could not let the sunny hoar frost go by without getting some pictures. I went home from work on my lunch break and grabbed the camera. I went out walking and had a nice time taking pictures and playing with camera settings. I wish I had the time to do that more often, but even if I did have the time, nature is rarely this giving!

December 26

The Christmas aftermath. My wreck of a house. I would like to be able to say that, since I am posting this on January 2nd, that everything is in order again but that would be a lie.

December 25

Santa came!

December 24

We woke up on Christmas Eve morning with LOTS of the white stuff on the ground, and it wasn't slowing down as it continued to pour out of the sky nearly all day. Zoey spent a good deal of time out on the deck, because she couldn't decide if she wanted in or out and I was getting tired of toweling off a wet dog!

December 23

I have been hoping for a while to capture one of these moments. This is truly typical day in the life of the Coobs family. Our girls are earlier risers than Cory and I and so many mornings when we don't have to get to work and school, we spend some time slowly waking up and hanging out in our bed. I love this part of our weekends, and I think the girls do too.

December 22

A long day, and a long week of anticipating all of the festivities to prepare for, and finally, we are home for the Holidays! I celebrated with a margarita that I wasn't able to finish before I found myself heading to bed.