This Blog is Mostly Me....

I noticed a few days ago that one of my friends hadn't updated her blog in some time. I use blogger reader and figured it was some sort of malfunction. I typed her blog address in and found that her blog was now a private read! What?!? How dare she make her blog private and not send me an invite to read! I quickly facebook messaged her to let her know of her mistake. And the response I got from her went something like this "Dawn, I am sorry to inform you that my in-laws had  HUGE problem with my blog so to salvage my marriage I will no longer be blogging. I turned it to private because there are some posts I want to keep." (Emphasis original).

Hmmmm.... perhaps referring to her husband as her "current husband" in one of her most recent blog posts didn't go over well with her inlaws. (On a side, that is kind of a joke among divorce attorneys because often our clients will refer to their wife as their "current wife" as to distinguish them from their "ex-wife." What they don't understand is they could call their "current wife" "wife" and by placing current in front of it indicates it may not be something permanent.")

But I knew exactly her pain. There are many days I want to get on my blog and vent. There are many posts that are toned down because this is a public blog, and I know many blog posts would offend some. And there are several what-would-be wonderful blog posts that would make a fantastic read.  It is somewhat disappointing to have to do that because I feel like I am cheating my readers and sometimes cheating myself. Also, I have some pretty amazing stories to tell that you wouldn't believe were real anyway. But the truth is, if I could really post those things I'd have an ex-husband, few angry family members, a couple less friends, and no co-workers because I'd be unemployed.

So this blog, my friends and family, you will have to settle for. And know that it is mostly me.

I love Black Friday, right?!?

You know this dutch girl loves herself some bargains. Allegedly no bargain is better than that which is found on Black Friday. For years Tommy and I have shared the passion of reading Black Friday blogs, scanning ads, and finding our best purchase for an unbeatable price. And over the years we have gotten some pretty amazing things.

I remember being in Las Vegas for Black Friday 2011. I remember being somewhat less excited about Black Friday than I had in years past. Even though Tommy and I ordered a laptop, which we have been fairly pleased with, I left the day feeling unsatisfied. I blamed it on my pregnancy and felt that the excitement would surely return in 2012.

 Now throughout this past year I have found many deals. At least once a month I get emails from Limited and Banana Republic for 40-50% off.  I got an Ipad (3!) a few months ago for 20% off. And earlier this month I purchased a new Samsung Galazy III for $.96. I thought with bargains so good, I couldn't even imagine what I'd be able to buy on Black Friday. Little did I know, these great prices all year long were spoiling my Black Friday fun!

So like the dedicated shopper I am, I left the house very earlier with my mom and husband to get that feeling of satisfaction that has been missing since 2010. I started early with an unplanned trip to WalMart. See, Tommy had found two things on Amazon that he wanted to order on their Lightning Deals. We diligently waited by the computers for the time of the deal. I had the responsibility of ordering one of the deals and Tommy had the other. Tommy successfully ordered his deal while my purchase suffered some sort of Operator's error which resulted in my husband being somewhat disappointed with me. Like the good wife I am, I decided to jump in the car and head to WalMart as it was going to be opening in a few minutes and I could purchase that same item at the same price to salvage my marriage. And I am happy to report my friends, I did just that.

 I saw so many shoppers with so many bags I kept feeling the excitement inside that I too was going to purchase something very special for very cheap. But my luck would end there. Banana and Limited and Gap were selling things at pretty much the same price I could buy previously.  A little trip to Kohl's did result in some good purchases with a large result of Kohl's cash to go blow next week. Seriously, how does that place stay in business? I did buy a few random things online. Nothing at a price I want to brag about. And nothing that was enough to leave me feeling that Black Friday magic.


As the day came to an end I decided that next year I probably will just stay at home and tell Emi the stories of how magically Black Friday used to be.

What'd you buy?!?

Conversations....

_______________________________________________________________________________
Grandma to me: "You have such a cute little boy."
Me: "Emi's a girl."
Grandma: "Well, I've never had one that looked like that before."

Ten minutes later...

Grandma "Emi's really tan."
Me: "Grandma, she's not entirely white."
_______________________________________________________________________________
Somehow throughout the week my name became an euphemism for screwing somebody financially... at least according to my bosses.  For example.... "Now figure out your bonus using the "Dawn" method."
_______________________________________________________________________________

I figured out that I need to go to the eye doctor after this conversation:

Me to Tommy: "Who is that big guy at first base?"
Tommy: "Prince Fielder, son of Cecil Fielder."
Me: "Huh.... that's weird. I had Cecil Fielder's Tombstone Pizza Baseball card and I could swear he was black."
Tommy: "He is."
Me: "Then how is his son white?!"

Here is a picture of Prince Fielder, the son:



_______________________________________________________________________________
My boss told me in all seriousness this week that if I were in jail he would totally bail me out. I told him in all seriousness that I would totally never call him.
_______________________________________________________________________________

You know you spend too much time working on the house when your nephew says "I like Lowe's. It's like Auntie Dawn's house."
__________________________________________________________________________________

It's Beginning...

... To Feel A Lot Like Christmas.

Here is what my life looked like last November:

I'm starting to feel a lot of stress towards the end of this year. Suddenly it was the end of 2012, and

I feel like nobody warned me. I always love the holidays and this year, I have no doubt, will be no different. But I'm feeling a little bit of added pressure to make sure everything is perfect for Emi's First Christmas. Maybe she will not remember, but she will see the pictures one day.

Now, do you remember our gorgeous Christmas tree from last year?

Yes, that beauty. Do you also remember me blogging about the HOURS of time Tommy and I spent changing out the light bulbs. Well, towards the end of December nearly all the lights burned out again. This means it is time for a new tree this year. I want to go to a tree farm and cut down a tree, but Tommy quickly nixed that idea. So we went to Costco instead.

This weekend I had a chance to run around to a few stores to get some new ribbon, pick up a few ornaments, and start thinking about how to make those Christmas traditions extra special.

I thought a Christmas tradition could be falling asleep in the shopping cart while I picked up some items. This was my nephew last year while I shopped (I heart him!).  But Emi was having none of it on our trip.

 One of my favorite Christmas traditions is the Advent Calendar. We had an Advent Calendar growing up. My mom hand crafted it. I remember the excitement of getting to put another decor from the calendar onto the tree every night. I'm not nearly as crafty as my mom, but some people on etsy.com are. And I found a beauty I hope to order this week.

I felt nearly all my stress subside when I saw a rotating Christmas Tree Stand while at Costco, and when I told Tommy we needed it, he agreed. Now I know our tree will be very special as it rotates in our living room.

On our way home from shopping, Tommy let me play my favorite Christmas song for Emi. O Holy Night. She liked it. And when I asked Tommy how I sounded singing it- he said I was good! It truly  is a special season.

Wherever you are, I hope you find many Christmas celebrations within your own family. And I hope you remember that the Earth's tilt is not the only reason for the season!

O Night Divine!

Just Cause....

Thankful Thursday

I'm thankful for my wonderful husband who also happens to be Emi's wonderful dad (phew, right?!).

This morning Tommy needed to bring donuts to work. I was already showered and dressed for the day, and so was Emi, but I couldn't drop Emi off at the sitter for another half hour. Tommy was still in his jammies. We decided he would get ready for work/watch Emi while I went and got the donuts. I came back home from Dahl's to find Tommy still in his jammies chasing Emi around the upstairs acting that he was a lion and she was his prey. She was crawling so fast from him and turning around and laughing at him. It was the best sight. Ever!

The other day Tommy was telling me about this $15 book he wanted to buy on Amazon. I said "Just buy it." He said "No, I feel guilty spending that much money on a book." I said "Honey, then just don't eat lunch for two days." That was the end of the conversation.... until two days later when he came to me and said "Let's order me that book. I didn't eat lunch for the last two days!"

Love him!

Nine Months!

Just when I think it can't get any better Emi starts doing a new fun thing. She is one busy nine month old. Besides the busy social calendar, she is busy learning lots of new things, making new noises, crawling incredibly fast, pulling herself up on anything and everything, and eating any new food we put in front of her. We started giving her those little puff treats in addition to all different types of baby foods. She spotted Tommy drinking milk out of a straw the other day and mastered that skill in a few minutes. She drinks out of her sippy cup during the day and a bottle before bed.

At Emi's nine month check up Dr. Rinderknect said Emi was acting like a one-year old. While she was somewhat fussy and annoyed (Tommy was trying to get the boogers out of her nose) I think he meant it as a compliment.

Emi weighed in at 21.9 pounds (90%) and 29 1/4 inches (95%). We had a different nurse then the last measurements, and she had to measure her height twice because the first time she measured shorter than her six month visit... so I'm not sure about that.

Emi has 4 tooth and a few more breaking through. She has been a real champ with her teeth. Though she drools a bunch, she doesn't fuss too much.

My favorite thing that Emi is does is put her arms up when she wants to be picked up. She is mimicking our sounds all the time and Tommy and I love walking around the house mimicking her!

Emi is still a great sleeper.  She still goes down around 830pm, and I usually have to get her out of bed by 7am. I swear that girl could sleep all day if I let her.

She is truly such a delight. When I picked Emi up today the sitter was having a conversation with another mom at the daycare who said "I don't think I've ever seen Emi in a bad mood."

10 Things....

Here are the ten things I love most about my home:

10.  Location. I live in Johnston. Not far from the American TV store on 86th. I love the location. I can be downtown, out west or to Ankeny in 15 minutes or less.

9. The washer/dryer. I love being trendy which is the sole reason why I own this washer and dryer. I rarely use the steam function and the wash cycle takes far longer than a regular wash machine. But I feel trendy doing laundry. And since I do a lot of laundry these days. That's important.

8. The fridge. If you are on the market for a new fridge, consider buying one with that extra fridge drawer. It's amazing.

7. This fire place. Tommy and I designed it, and it's so divine.

6. Master closet. Our mastroom bedroom closet is like 8 foot by 15 foot. Its amazing.

5. Emi's Room. Not only do I love Emi's room, but she loves it too! She stares at the wall decals, talks to the owls on her bumper, and lays on her cozy rug.

4. The swimming pool. I have great time with family and friends out here, and I love entertaining.

3. This couch. It looks messy with all the blankets on it but that is because not too long ago we got up from our Sunday nap. Our = Tommy, Emi and I. It fits us three comfortably, and even has room for a few more babes!

2. Our bedroom. We bought this tempurpedic mattress and bedroom set about a year ago. I hate shopping for a bed mattress so I'm so happy that we love our tempurpedic. I also love the bedroom set. But most of all, I love the king size bed. Plenty of space for all three of us when Tommy says "It's the weekend, can't Emi sleep with us please?" We then put her in our bed for ten minutes and she hates it so we return her to her bed.

1. What I love most about my home is who I share it with (I stole that quote from Pinterest and a friend just recently posted it on her blog!). But seriously, these two are the best!

Thankful Thursday

Wow! It's been a few weeks since I remembered to be thankful on a Thursday. In fact, I know many of people who do the Thankful Thursday post but have been slacking over the past few weeks (not you, Laura, Old Faithful!)

I'm thankful that after many weeks of fighting discussing, my bosses finally paid me my incentive.

I'm thankful for the many lunches I have had with my many wonderful friends over the past few weeks.

I'm thankful for some of my favorite shows premiering again like RHOBH. I'm thankful for Kyle Richards line of "It's good to see your face today. Both of them!"

I'm thankful for the black friday posts. I love looking for a good deal- probably almost as much as finding one.

Above all, I'm thankful that my family would be okay no matter who was elected for president- for that is not where my help comes from.

Where does your help come from?

10 Things....

1. Autocorrect often changes Emi to Emily. Often I'm too lazy to fix it. I have not changed her name. I don't mind the name Emily, but Emi is no Emily.

2. I don't know how to use blogger, however, there is a feature that allows you to see how people find your blog. The top three search terms for my blog are 1. dawn takekawa; 2. dvwt blog; 3. Indian people are rude. (That's weird, right? I don't recall saying that out loud.)

3. Emi only has four teeth, but she grinds them. And hearing that sound is like fingernails on a chalkboard. Do your ears hurt now too?

4. Emi had a play date with her cousins which included a dance party with tony and making a jungle gym of Sam. Then she tried to steal Sams bottle. Poor kid.

My favorite thing to be in the world is a mom. My second favorite thing to be is an aunt. I love those boys. They are the best cousins for Emi.



5. Is it too soon for these jammies?

6. The answer to that question is yes. Twenty minutes after I put those jammies on Emi had a blow out.  Had to change to these:

7. I hope in my life God blesses me with another girl. Is that bad to wish for a certain gender? The other day I was holding my friends baby boy and it felt really unnatural. I felt like I didn't even know how to hold him and the only reason is because he is a boy. Also, can anything be cuter than these unicorn jammies?

8. I just saw a political commercial that suggested that if 538 Floridians had voted in the 2000 election than 9-11 would have never happened and the economy would not be like it is today.

9. The other day I saw my grandma. First she told me my son was so cute. Than she told me he was tan! Love ya, Grandma!

10. I asked my mom today what were some of the most traumatic things that happened in her life. She said 1) An accident my Grandpa that was in that left him paralyzed; 2) the death of her father; and 3) going to college.