Whirlwind

So, the last month has been a bit of a whirlwind. Time sure has flown. I embarked on my new journey as a staffing consultant at Express with three of the best coworkers ever, duh! It sure is a new and excited career I must say. I never ever thought I'd be helping people find jobs but i've enjoyed most moments thus far. Some days are challenging and some people that is for sure, but learning the ins and outs of the industry and trying to be the best that I can be. I still have a lot to learn and have a good coach.  I'm totally thrilled and excited to be working with people, learning more about them, and learning new things myself.

On a family note, not a whole lot has changed at the homestead. We got a new car for me. Saving gas and money. So thats fun. Um, ohhh, and Holden graduated from high chair, to big boy table. Its so cute to see him eat. Such a mini person. How I love him. My love just grows, and grows, and grows for him. He is starting to say and use more words. He's been saying uppy (puppy) and cheese anytime i ask to take his picture or just give him some cheese. LOL. He loves trucks and thinks all trucks are his, and him and Gracie (our cat) are becoming the best of friends.

Lastly, We are going to visit my mother in Austin in less than two weeks! Yay! If anyone has travel advice for a 1.5 year old little boy let me know. I'm sure we're up for a big challenge or suprise. I'll post more pics next time. xoxo

Dog Days of Summer...

Woooooooooweee, Man do I love air conditioner. This heat "dome" needs to melt off of us and go away. I am so ready for fall. I've been melting for what seems like months. Why bother even trying to straighten my hair because we all know by the end of the day I'll look like Mufasa from the Lion King-such a lovely fro of a mane.

So, things have been pretty normal here. Well, as normal as they can be with a 1 year old :). Just been doing the same daily routine, daycare, work, eat, sleep and repeat. However my little guy sure has a personality. He still is trying to learn his words he's saying "up" when he wants up all done when he is finished eating, and "ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh" when he wants everything else. OMG. I can't wait til he can say, "Mother , i would like a glass of milk please" and I totally just wrote that in a British accent in my head. No clue why, sounded fancy. He is really a fun little guy though. Just learned to eat corn on the cob. He loves it.

And Yes, he had two pieces. LOL

Official last Thursday I accepted a new position. I know I've been exploring options for a few months, and I finally had an opportunity that came my way that I could not pass up. I will be working at Express Employment as a staffing consultant. I'm totally pumped. I'll be working with a small and motivated team. It is going to keep me busy and motivated and I'll be helping people find jobs! I think days will be hard, but I think it will be very fulfilling and I can't wait for this new adventure. So, if anyone is looking for a new position, a career change, or wants to have us keep their resume on file (it never hurts to look) feel free to contact me. Or if you work for a company that doesnt use a staffing agency give us a call so we can give you the benefits of doing so....(how am i doing boss? :)

Happy Monday everyone, this is all for now. Until next time. xoxo

Garage Sales

Today was our neighborhood yard sale. How fun is it to go through other people's junk to find your next treasure. I scored a great pier one picture that I'm going to paint and put in our guest bedroom. Totally psyched. Holden got a new hat and a work bench. He is avidly pounding away with the hammer and turning the screws.
I love how these neighborhood sales allow you to meet and interact with new people. Its fun people watching. Just to see what they'll take of yours and to say goodbye to things that were once treasures. I often find myself looking through the things for sale and sneaking them back in to the house. "I will totally wear that again, duh!" My husband will probably shoot me if I bring one more thing back in the house.
Tonight is Nick's first Alumni football game. Wish him luck. I'll post pics if I get some good ones. Kennedy vs. Jefferson at Kingston. I can tell Nick's so excited and nervous. I hope he does good. Maybe some NFL scouts will be there and scoop him up LOL. At least thats what I keep telling him will happen. Heck, a girl can dream. Tomorrow we will clean up from this sale and I get to paint my guest bedroom. yay! we obviously can't keep busy enough here. Always doing something, wishing and praying for a free weekend and then when it gets here we are bored. I dont know how we'll ever retire someday. Nick for sure.  Off to sweat some more, sell some things that were once treasures to us and now will be to someone else. Xoxo

4th of July Weekend

Hello, happy belated 4th of July to everyone. We had a very eventful weekend. One of the best in a long time. I was lucky to have a four day weekend and it was so hard to come back to work. Friday started off with a visit from Shannon, Taylor, and Dad. We grilled out and played Gin. My family is a little obsessed with card games. Saturday after the girls left we went to the Gehrls for a BBQ. It sure was fun. Holden and Nash even took a bath together LOL. It was nice to have a relaxing time with friends and catch up. I loved watching the little men Nash, Carter, and Holden interact, as well as, the big men beat a giant tv to pieces. LOL.
Sunday we had a nice family day-organized for our neighborhood wide garage sale that is July 9th. Come one come all. Lots of kids in the neighborhood and babies, there may be some great finds. On the 4th we went to Belle Plaine. For some reason small town festivities make the holidays seem so much more fun and memorable. The whole town was out for the parade and our family even drove a firetruck. How exciting. Holden got more tootsie rolls then he could eat in a year. Then Nick, Tod and I went golfing. I love it! I want to be pro and get super good. Thats my goal. So if anyone wants to buy me clubs I'll take them! Its relaxing and yet gives me some sort of drive and determination. I love learning new things.


Ya, I'm so cool!




Walking around at Great Grandmas house



Nick and Holden at the parade.

Yesterday was my first "Mommy" day in a long time. Nick and I took a six mile bikeride. (I dont know how my friend Nate rides more) or how Ragbrai riders ride across the state, as I was so exhausted after LOL. I fell asleep for like 2.5 hrs. So i give you all props.
Short work week, can't wait for the weekend. We're always busy doing something new. This weekend Nick is in a Kennedy vs. Jefferson Alumni game. Go Hlav! Come watch if you're bored. Thanks for listening to me ramble. Happy hump day!

Chocolate Chip Cookies.

This weekend was such a great time. Holden met his Aunt Taylor and Aunt Shannon for the very first time. He really did enjoy them! He got to go to the airport and pick them up. At first he was shy. He did start to smile a little in the car as Shannon started to tickle him. We went to the grocery and got lots of yummy food to make for dinner. MMMMM. Brats and Burgers. She brought us lots of cute presents too. Thank you thank you Shanny Pants :)

Then Shannon made her famous cookies. Yum and Yummier. We had cookie and ice cream for dessert. Needless to say I'm still stuffed from Saturday. Yesterday Shannon helped me make and decorate cupcakes for a baby shower. I dont know how I would have done it without her. I'll post pics later. But we made chocolate and cherry chip and I even showed her how to make homemade frosting. Yum, I love almond extract. Mmmmmmm.

The weekend flew by. Ugh. I wish every weekend was a three day weekend. I always seem to need that extra day. LOL. Well, this week is pretty eventful. Life is never slow anymore. Sheeesh. Tonight I have Dawn's baby shower, Tuesday Nick has football practice (come to his game at Kingston July 9th 8:00pm), Wednesday we have family time, Thursday Nick has softball, Friday needs to come fast, and then I took an extra day off and have a four day weekend yaya! Lots of Mommy and Holden time. Headed out to Belle Plaine to golf, play bingo, drink a beer, and relax. Happy Early 4th friends. P.S. If you're looking for a great funny movie rent "JUST GO WITH IT". Freaking loved it.

To be or not to be...that is the question???

In my journey to find out what I want to be when I grow up I have come to the realization that I am so confused. How is it that I have a teaching degree, worked at US Cellular for 7 years, am now working at the Gazette. I am so confused. I find myself toying around with different ideas lately. I'm creative and love to decorate, yes...I love to do hair and nails and cosmetic stuff, yes...I totally respect and love the medical field i.e. nurses , xray tech etc. , yes. Why can I not take a leap of faith and do something different that I love...MONEY.
Why does Money have to be the reason for not fulfilling my dreams. What are my dreams? I'm toying with the idea of doing in home daycare. I figure if I have 4 kids plus my own i can bring in just as much money as i'm making now but not have to pay for childcare. Plus i could be with Holden and other children. Nick is supportive, my whole family and so many of my friends are too. I figure I could try it out for a year and if it doesnt work out either go to school or back to work, right?? So I am going to start researching and put together an outline of pros and cons as well as needs to do this. I will have to register, take a cpr / first aid class and make sure that I am fully prepared. I think the days will go fast, we will have fun, and i can make a positive impact by teaching children. So we will see. I'll keep you posted. This is my idea in the works. Got to iron out details and make sure its realistic and what I want to do.
Been a pretty boring week, my sisters are coming to town this weekend. They will be meeting Holden for the first time. Yay. I'm mostly looking forward to the fourth weekend. 3 days off woot woot. We are heading to BellePlaine for a parade, bingo, and beer. LOL. should be fun. Adios for now. xoxo

Holden's 1 Year Pics

This is classic Holden, belly laughing

Happy Family

Following in Daddy's footsteps

Lovin' Life and Cake

Best friends Forever we will be

My absolute favorite.

Just Had to share Holden's Pictures from NinaCecilia~Creative Spark. They do such an amazing job.

Well, life hasn't been to different or extra exciting this last week. We hung Holden's swing from our deck and now it's hard to get him to want to stay inside. He is finishing his last week at Yvonne's house and going back to his original daycare Dana. That will be a new change for him next week. I hope he adjusts well.

Tonight I'm going to get a new Tattoo. I am getting a heart with an H in the middle. It can stand for Holden or Hlavacek. But I'm getting it on my wrist as a symbol of love of my family and how family and Holden have taught me patience. Everytime I feel lost, anxious, or happy or sad I can look down as a reminder that I have lifes greatest blessings. I've wanted to do this for some time and tonights the night.
I'll upload a pic soon. xoxo

Beautiful Weekend

Although the heat was ridiculous, the weekend was really fun in the Hlavacek world. Nick was out of town at a softball tournament in Burlington Iowa with his team 911. It was just a perfect me and Holden kind of weekend. Here is what we did
Saturday morning we attended our first Farmer's Market. Holden loved watching all of the people. He insists that when he puts his hat and flippy flops on that its time to go outside so he was ready for the big event.
The rest of the day we napped (4 hrs wahoo) Then our friends Caroline and Nash came over. Nash and Holden love to play. They went down the slide and even rode on the rollercoaster together. What a blast. Target and groceries came next. At home we practiced reading. He amazes me. When I ask him where things are on the page he points to them! We showed that off to Daddy and Grams and they were so impressed.
Yesterday (Sunday) We swam some more in the pool. Holden loves playing soccer and in the water outside so we had a good time. Nick was home too so he let me lay out while he played with Holden. I took a few pictures yesterday and recreated a picture that my mom and I had when I was a baby. Its the one of Holden on my lap in the pool. I thought she'd get a kick out of that.

Thats all for now. Happy Monday everyone. keep Hydrated!! Heat index is 105 today. eeek

Our First Fever

So much for a three day weekend! Holden started a small fever Thursday and we controlled it somewhat with Tylenol, Friday it grew and was up to 102.5 in the morning. 104.1 and off to the doctor. First off, dont go to Urgent Care on Edgewood. They are not so urgent. I was in tears as my baby's cheeks turned neon pink and he moaned of pain. The doctor said its viral, not strep. Can't do anything..control with ibuprofen and Tylenol. Saturday night he was in his room moaning again. Poor buddy. Crying and I checked his temp with the tushy thermometer and it said 106! ER here we went. We were there from 1 to 3 am and thankfully they gave him amoxicillan. Poor buddy had a throat infection. To top all of this he is getting all his big boy molars. Ahh. life of a teething  and sick baby is tough. Our Memorial Day weekend was spent like this.
Monday he seemed to be doing so much better. He even got to go swimming in his little pool. Daddy and Mommy finally got to do outdoor activities and get a tan, I LOVE BEING TAN! And we also got good sleep. Not a super eventful fun weekend, but an eventful weekend overall. Um, I am kind of boring this week, but wanted to continue to write.
I'm in a little burnout/rut however. Missing my girlfriends, missing the gossip, the being carefree, roadtrips, late nights, etc. I feel so routine lately. I am grateful beyond words for my happy family, but the weeks sometimes go so fast and drag at the same time. I feel like i dont get to catch up with the girls as much as i used to, and for sure have less and less me time. I find myself going to Hy-vee like everynight just to get out of the house once Holden is asleep. My little "escape". Im sure its just a little phase or rut and I'll snap out of it. But I must say a girls weekend or even day is a must.
Well, thats all for now. Miss and love all my girls, and our families far away. xoxo!

Happy Monday!

This weekend sure was a blast! Jill and the kids came to town. Holden got to celebrate his birthday again! Yay, more cake! :). We just love family time. We played and played and played some more! Holden loves chasing around his cousins and feels like such a big boy.

I think food eating contests are in his future!:)

Haha! this is too funny. They were trying to get Holden to look and he wouldn't. Grandma got more pics of the three, so i'll update when i get them. They even took a bath together. I'm sure they'll love that when they are older! It will be great for a graduation or wedding slideshow. LOL.
We are also entered in a photo contest. So anyone who reads this make sure to Vote for Holden. Nina Cecilia~Creative Spark are amazing photographers. We just love their work and want them to take our family photos all the time. They capture moments to last a lifetime. Here is the link to their blog....http://ninaceciliacreativespark.com/2011/05/my-kid-is-cuter-than-your-kid-contest/ make sure to cut and paste and save and remember to vote every day!! Thanks.
Signing out for now. I'll post more pictures soon . Peace, love, and good weather..xoxox

HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY!

I absolutely cannot believe that one year ago today at this exact moment I was laying in a hospital bed waiting for the arrival of my little angel. Now i do remember that at this time I was having painful contractions in my back that felt like my body was going to shatter in to a million pieces. But around 7 o'clock I will be getting my epideral. LOL. The pain, the tears, the pushing, the post partum baby weight and emotions are absolutely worth it. Looking back at life without Holden is so empty and I am so grateful.
Holden had a sports themed party and a lot of his friends and family were in attendance. My little guy is so lucky to have such great friends and family. For his party we had walking tacos, hot dogs, chips, cookies, and cupcakes that I decorated all by myself! He was very lucky and got a lot of good loot. A little lawn mower, some hawkeye clothes, and so much more! What a lucky guy. The Cake smash was also a success. He loves frosting and looked like a tiger with all of the orange frosting all over his face.
We also had family pictures yesterday for his First Birthday by Creative Spark. Cecilia came over and did such a great job. Holden had fun, was a little testy at times, but still gave plenty of smiles. I can't wait to see how they turned out. I ' ll post some later. For now, here are a few pictures from the party :).

 Here are my cupcakes!

                                                                     Messy Baby

Poop Eater

Holden officially took a bite out of a kitty tootsie roll. Lucky for me, I was at work. Lucky for Nick, he got to wash the babies hands, mouth, and brush his teeth. Freaking gross. Why do little people put everything in their mouth. Rocks, sticks, dirt, ew.

This weekend was the Reed wedding. Wow, it was such a beautiful and fun time. Shelly and Nick looked fantastic. The venue rocked, and the company too! I told Nick before bed that I just love our friends and we are blessed to have so many people who care about us and that we care about. It's like one giant happy family.

                                          Kaly, Nat, Me and Caroline

 Kaly, Erin, Caroline, Me, Nat, and Jen!

                                     Mr. and Mrs. Reed

                                          Mr and Mrs. Hlavacek :)
Happy First Mother's Day to all of my friends who are new mommies. Looking back on the last 11 months of being a mommy make me so proud of myself for learning patience in trying times. But my most favorite is learning to love more than I ever knew possible. I am so blessed to have a healthy baby boy who will be one in 7 days! Love you Holden!

Hidden Treasure

Although this is my latest facebook status, I wanted to mark it as a memory here as well. My tender moment with my ALMOST ONE YEAR OLD! Tonight, after playing ball, eating peanut butter and jelly, and finally getting him to drink his bottle with whole milk(not formula yay) my baby and I rocked in his room. I love our rocking chair. Since he was a little nugget I'd sit in there with him. Exploring his face and staring in to his tiny eyes, or just watching him sleep. Brings a tiny tear just thinking how fast this year went. Now instead of me inspecting his tiny features, he's inspecting my larger ones. LOL! Oh how I love when my big boy picks my nose for me while I rock him to sleep! Ah, how their little brains work and explore things. I hope that once he starts talking I have lots more of these funny moments to share. My goal is to document all of the great things that he says and does.
I do know that someday I want to turn this blog in to a book. Working for a printer is great because they inform you of all of the exciting things that technology has to offer. I heard that there is a site that you can turn your blog in to a book. So yaay! So that is my new goal, to make it something we can keep and look back on and laugh at.
Signing out for the evening. I have laundry to do!!! Wahoo.

The Challenges of Motherhood

Finding time....finding patience...fighting stress....finding patience....

Today I'm stressed out! I know I can't be the only person in the world with these issues. Please help! I have an 11 1/2 month old 13 year old. If that makes sense. Holy cow. Mr. Independent, agressive, angry , elf. And ofcourse he is trying so hard to communicate and screaching louder than a tornado siren. Mommy instincts kick in, I try everything....Tylenol (teething) , diaper change (wet), milk, snacks, food, EAT A DAMN COOKIE. No luck. Marshmallows usually do the trick. No luck! What a frustrating day. Needed to vent. thank you!

Men..

Why do men not get sick as often as women? How come when women are sick and complain, men tell them to suck it up? I would just like to say that when men are sick they are twice as bad as women! Complain twice as much! and are twice as lazy! I'm not bitter, just observant. and if you dont agree, you obviously dont live with one. LOL.
However, I will say  that it is kind of nice when they are sick. They leave you alone, you can go and do what you want. If you're lucky they stay in bed and YOU get the remote for the nite. Perhaps a mani/pedi, etc. And if you take care of them just the slightest bit, you can hold it against them and they "owe" you. I just love IOU's. oh, and bribery. My favorite bribery is for backrubs. I haven't failed yet.
Happy friday everyone. Enjoy the weekend. and Hopefully I'll have some fun pics from Amelia's bday party to post!

April...

Okay, so what is going on with this weather. How do people live in places where its wet, misty, rainy, cold, depressing all of their lives. OMG. Pretty much going on seven days of nasty weather. To prove , my coworker just had a geese poop on her by the park. Nasty just like that.

Okay, Happy times. First easter was a success, minus overeating. I think Holden loved each and everything and sampled it all once, or twice. Right down to the pie. i love the faces he makes when he tries something new. Like the "sour face" when he tried the cherry pie....or the "yucky face" when he didnt like the green bean casserole, or the "give me more now!" face for the candy. He is so much fun. What would I do without him.

 

Green

The sun is shining. It feels like spring! I'm smiling! I got to workout tonight, I have energy and all is good in the world. Currently Holden is eating cheerios, marshmallows, raisins, and mixed vegetables. What a variety. LOL. He seems to be a bottomless pit. I wish I could eat like him.
Its already been a crazy week, and my friday is usually craziest. Can't wait to have a girls night out on Saturday. Congrats Shelly! Can't wait for the big day one Month away! Weddings are so fun. If i didn't have to plan I'd get married once a year. Oh, and it'd have to be free and include a tropical vacation.

Wordfeud

So, my coworker and I play wordfued on a daily basis. Some may say that we are mildly obsessed. We think it keeps our brains sharp. However, how sharp can my brain really be if i have only beat her once. We have played maybe 30 times now. My time has got to come. I never realized how much strategy played a part in a "word" game.

Side note: Holden can walk now! And he jabbers away saying words like, Dada, Uh oh, and TEXAS. Because every 10 mth old's third word is Texas. Duh. I mean, it would be too obvious for his third word to be Mama or even his first or second. Maybe by the time he's two he'll know who I am. LOL. Maybe i should teach him Christina. Because there is probably a greater chance that he'll say that first.

1st Day...

My first day of work at Source Media is tomorrow. Wish me luck. What a new challenge, and what a tough decision it was to change jobs. Life is full of challenges, and we dont always understand them. We just have to have faith and take our chances. I'll update soon on how it goes ;)

Whats Happening Now....

Well, lets start with January.....
We celebrated New years as a family along with our close friends Chris and Caroline and their son Nash. Stacey and Brandon and their son Carter, Natalie and Brian, Brandon, and Matt and Jen. It was low key night at the Gehrls place. Life and holidays sure change when ya have tiny people in your life....

February...
Big changes are coming our way. Holden has seven teeth, can crawl, stand, and get anywhere he wants to go. He is eating like a piggy pig pig. Loves Bananas and waffles. He is so fun and growing so fast. He has graduated to a big boy car seat too!

As for Nick and I, we are doing great.  recently retired from US Cellular and am joining Source media as an inside sales consultant (account manager) in their advertising department. I was at US Cellular for 7 years. This is very bittersweet for me. But the pros and growth outway the cons. I will be working 8-5 M-F...with every weekend off!!!

Here are a few pics. Enjoy....