Pink Frog Stories

::Canadian Goose Nesting Box

2011-04-11T13:04:00.001-07:00

So over the last month we have had an assortment of different birds landing on our pond. We have had Canadian geese, wood ducks, mallards and others. It is always exciting to see them and everytime we hope one pair will stay and nest. We haven't had any successful takers, that is until this year... Joey decided he would make a goose/duck nesting box. The first picture is a little fuzzy because I had to secretly take a picture of him making it! ;) He isn't big on posing for my every picture whim that comes at him! Within two weeks of Joey putting it out in the middle of our pond a pair of Canadians decided to call it their own. Trigger has even accepted them and doesn't try to run them off like he does the Blue Herons that land. Much to our surprise the first egg showed up a week ago. Unfortunately even from our high deck we rarely have an opportunity to see inside the nest. Only if the wind gets it turning just right. We are a little concerned about the recent hail we had and are hoping she was sitting on the nest when the hail hit. They've been acting a little unsual the last few days going and coming a little more than what had been normal over the past week. Guess we will see what happens...

::Cake Pops

2011-02-28T09:52:00.000-08:00

Decided to make some of the cake pops that everyone has been talking about for Addi & Joe's birthday party. They turned out great, although they were a lot of work!

Melted candy coating for the dipping...

Some of my decorating supply...

Drying the cake pops...

Wrapped some to go into goodie bags for our guests...

Bowl for the party...

Goodie bags with Addi's 2yr pic on it...

And the birthday girl enjoying her special treat...

::Christmas 2010 Highlights

2011-01-04T09:37:00.000-08:00

As usual our December is packed full of holiday fun. These are some of the highlights of our Christimas season.

Adelinn sitting under our tree, watching me wrap present after present. I had to start wrapping a couple of hers because she got upset when none were for her!
Spending time with family at the Schnoebelen Christmas!

Addi kept saying "Addi turn, Addi turn" the whole time we were in line, but got real shy once she was up there. But no crying again this year!

Opening presents at the Aring Christmas!

Addi and Mommy making cookies for Santa.

Addi picked out a couple of cookies for Santa. Then she took a bite of one of them and put it back on the plate. (The next morning she also ate the crumbs Santa left behind.)

Opening presents from Santa.

Christmas at Grandma's house.

Christmas night playing with her new doll from Santa.

::Carving Pumpkins

2010-12-20T12:52:00.000-08:00

::Rodeo Time

2010-08-27T10:12:00.001-07:00

Joe and I took Addi to her first rodeo last weekend! She had so much fun and even got to sit on a horse!

Addi and Grandma!

::Family Fish Time

2010-07-08T20:05:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago we took Addi fishing for the first time. She enjoyed the wagon ride there, watching Daddy fish, throwing rocks and sticks in the water where Daddy was fishing, but didn't want to touch the worms or fish yet. I found that very surprising as she loves getting dirty and being outdoors! I don't think it will take her long though!

::Puppies Looking for a Home

2010-06-30T20:52:00.000-07:00

My in-laws got a surprise a few weeks ago...PUPPIES! These six cute little puppies are just a few weeks old but will be needing a new home in a few more weeks. Their Mommy is a full size collie and Daddy is an English Setter, both very sweet parents. There are three males and three females. Three are all white with a patch over one eye and the other three are marked more like their collie mom.

::Honoring Our Veterans

2010-06-02T09:10:00.000-07:00

Over the years Memorial Day for me has changed. When I was young I always associated Memorial Day with a day off from school which my family always spent camping for the weekend. As I have gotten older this day has come to have a lot more meaning for me. I've come to learn what this day is really suppose to mean to us as a country and this year it had even more meaning for my family. My 91 year old Grandpa, Alvin Schnoebelen, was honored in a ceremony Monday at Veterans Trail where his service to our country was acknowledged by Major General Sentman and he was given a certificate by Colonel McGinley. Here a portion of the trail is dedicated in his name, along with six other well deserving veterans. Nearly our entire family was able to attend and celebrate with him. These honorees that meet certain criteria are nominated by the public and then go through a selection process.

A few years ago at Christmas Grandpa gave all of us copies of his memories and experiences of WWII. It was extremely interesting and made us all realize how lucky we were that he survived and started the roots that have now expanded into our current families. Grandpa survived being involved in both the European and Pacific Theaters during WWII. He served on an ammunition carrier as a Third Class Radarman, very new technology at the time and of which they didn't have at the beginning of the war. His ship was hit by a Japanese Kamikaze single-manned submarine. There is no explanation as to why the ship didn't explode since it was carrying 4,500 tons of ammunition and around 48,000 rounds of shells. Although the ship was severely damaged it did not completely sink. It was the only ship during WWII to wear a purple heart on her mast until the end of the war.

My grandfather is the kindest, most gentle man I have ever known and we are all very proud of the service he has done for our country, helping to ensure our freedoms. He has and continues to lead a very honorable life and has even been able to meet his great-grandchildren. Quite awhile ago Joe and I decided that if we ever become blessed with a little boy Alvin will be his middle name.

::Summer Time

2010-06-01T09:47:00.000-07:00

Summer time is finally here and all the activities that come with it. Addi has been enjoying her pool and new experiences of ice cream cones and popsicles!

::It's Zoo Time Again...

2010-05-26T13:25:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday we decided to take Addi to the zoo for the first time this year. She enjoyed much more this time than she did of last year when she slept through half of it!

::You Never Know What You'll Come Home With!

2010-05-02T19:07:00.000-07:00

Today was the Burlington Flea Market again. Once a month the Aring family goes and sees what loot they can find. I was able to find an awesome metal pie plate to display in my future kitchen someday. :) Then bought 18 wave petunias! Finally, I found some really great stuff I got to add to my scrapbooking stash! Sneaky Joe decided to buy Addi a baby bunny when I wasn't looking! I have to admit I wasn't overly excited because I know who will be taking care of it... Addi was interested in her for a short while, but then went back to playing with her balloons!

::Joe's Bird

2010-04-28T06:50:00.000-07:00

Two weeks ago on my birthday Joe shot his first turkey of the year. I've been wanting to get this posted, but Joe left my SD card at Paul's and kept forgetting to get it back. But here he is...

::A Week in our Life - Day Seven (4/25/10)

2010-04-27T09:55:00.000-07:00

8:10am Again Addi let us sleep in this morning. Love it! (Although I remember a day when 8am was not sleeping in! Oh how far we've come!) The three of us watched some CMT for a little while then time to get busy. Joe went out to help Lance borrow something, then he came back in to feed Addi breakfast. I cleaned the bathroom and then got ready. As I was in the bathroom the window blind broke and I yelled to Joe we were going to Menards.

10am Off to Menards to pick up a new shade for the window and a few other needed things.

11:30am We stop to look at a few vehicles and then stop at Hungry Hobo for lunch.

1:00pm Back to work on the laundry and organizing the house while Addi looks at her books. Grandma K calls and wants to come over and play with Addi because she hasn't seen her since last Saturday. Grandma K and Addi do a lot of playing and put new batteries in Addi's Easter bunny that sings, hops and dances. (Can't say I've missed that!) Addi had fun dancing along! She is also insistent that she must wear her rainbow necklace all day!

3:00pm Get signed up for my deer tags for next season! Already excited!

3:15pm Start making plans for supper while Joe is at Chucks helping with the remodeling of his house. Marinade t-bone steaks, stuffed mushrooms (our favorite), rolls, cheesy broccoli, rice and banana pudding is on the menu. Joe finally gets home a while later and we get supper put together. Then we both pick up the leftovers and get them put away.

7:00pm Time for another bath for Addi. I couldn't get her clothes off fast enough for her. She still had on a diaper and onesie as she tried to crawl over the side of the tub. I think she could do it if I let her keep going.

...She has her necklace back on before I can even get her dried off!

8pm She's ready for bed and goes down for the night.

9:00pm Take a shower and then finish cleaning up the kitchen before finally heading to bed. Joe and I spend some time together watching TV.

::A Week in our Life - Day Six (4/24/10)

2010-04-26T14:12:00.001-07:00

8:00am Addi let me sleep in this morning, love these mornings they are much more rare! Addi and I play and watch a few music videos on CMT and then eat breakfast. Then it is off to begin cleaning the house. Addi has recently discovered our blanket rack makes an awesome fort!

9:30am I throw in some laundry and begin picking up and organizing the house.

...Addi finds my pile of (dirty) whites and decides that it looks like fun.

...Then she decides to do some cleaning herself and got the Swiffer out, all awhile adorning her laundry outfit!

Afternoon Addi and I eat lunch and then I continue to work on the house and laundry. Addi gets tired but doesn't take much of a nap.

4:30 A friend from work comes over and we head to a retirement party in Muscatine. Joey stays home with Addi. The party was fun and got to see a lot of the older retirees from previous years.

5:30 We head back home in the pouring rain and stop for gas. When I finally make it home I discover that Addi has emptied two of her dresser drawers, so much for her room being clean. She brought Joe her pink deer outfit from Grandpa and Grandma Hermann so he put it on her.

...love the feet!

...Addi and I play around for awhile.

8:00pm Start getting Addi ready for bed. Then later Joe and I have some quiet time before deciding we are both exhausted and head for bed.

::A Week in our Life - Day Five (4/23/10)

2010-04-26T09:11:00.000-07:00

(Ok I know I'm behind, but I promise to get caught back up and finish this challenge!)

6:00am Got up and started getting ready. Addi woke up a little early this morning and was crying when I went in to get her. (Joey was already gone Turkey hunting with Jeffrey.)

...Addi's crazy morning hair!

...A quick picture of us before heading out the door.

6:50am We're out the door and on our way to Robyn's house. Addi brought along her singing Donkey for show and tell today with the kids. (I'm sure Robyn will appreciate hearing that all day long!)

7:35 Made it to work and ready to begin another busy day of supervising hallways before school, finishing the paperwork for two IEPs, going over current events, checking homework, going over notes, supervising mischief, and creating/playing review baseball for next Tuesday's test. (plus all the little things I can fit in between)

4:10 Pick up Addi and head home. We play until Joey gets home. Then we decide on Benny's pizza for supper, yum! (no cooking for me - double bonus!) I picked up the pizza after fighting a crowd both in the parking lot and inside. (Thought I had taken a picture of the pizza, but hadn't. I was really bad today with pictures.)

7:00 Get Addi ready for bed and we play for awhile longer. Then she wonders over to a box we were going to throw out and tries to crawl inside.

...when she starts cuddling with her bunny it is time for bed

8:30 Addi is finally in bed and Joey and I have some quiet time watching TV before eventually heading to bed ourselves.

::A Week in our Life - Day Four (4/22/10)

2010-04-23T10:02:00.001-07:00

6:10 Up and moving, Addi wakes up and Joe gets up with her so I can finish getting ready. A quick breakfast and we are off.

...Besides Addi and her diaper bag, I grab my purse, ice water for the day and phone on the way out the door to drop her off.

7:45 Get to work and finish getting ready for my meeting this afternoon. Go through the daily schedule of classes.

2:30 Finally have my last scheduled IEP meeting for the year (fingers crossed). Love the meetings where the student is doing great, making progress, and easy to work with! Even better when supportive parents/guardians are there and trying to make a difference for their child. To top it off my student, guardian, teacher, administrator, and AEA consultant were all there, yea! A great end to some difficult meetings I've held this year! (I was going to take a pic of our conference room, but forgot to grab my camera)

3:40 Headed home to pick up Addi and spend some family time outside in the nice weather. As soon as we got home the dogs all came over to check out Addi and give her some kisses before she could even make it out of the garage.

...My buddy Trigger is a very devoted pet and is always at my side. He has now started to take interest in Addi as well, it is very sweet to watch.

...Joe fed his fish and Addi got to watch in amazement. Most of the catfish are now about 2 feet in length and seem more like pets now since we feed them and enjoy watching them.

...My family

...Our home

...Joey was letting Addi walk on the bridge and although he was right there with her the entire time my stomach turned over numerous times until I just couldn't take it anymore. I told him he was going to give me an ulcer.

...After spending time at the pond it was Addi's time to play in the rocks. Trigger was keeping a watchful eye on her. I should have put play clothes on her before this, but we didn't make it upstairs.

...Joe deciding he'd take the Polaris for a ride, but he had to get it off the trailor first

...Kodi Girl is such a sweet dog with everyone, especially Addi. Addi started to give her loves with hugs and kisses (open mouth kisses by the way). I got lots of cute pictures!

::A Week in our Life - Day Three (4/21/10)

2010-04-22T06:30:00.001-07:00

6:10am Got up and ready...then got Addi up and going. Joe got up and got her dressed. She went and got her coat for him so she could go to Robyn's house.

7:40am Got to school and had a pretty busy day, trying to get ready for my last major (planned) meeting of the year for one of my students.
2nd US History - Worked on maps and book assignment, then they had notes and got to watch a clip of blitzkrieg.
Homeroom - Students mostly socialized, no one wanted to do their testing today.
3rd US History - Worked on maps and book assignment, then they had notes and got to watch a clip of blitzkrieg.
4th World Geography - Students finished their itinerary for a trip to Africa to watch the World Cup
5th, 6th and 7th US History - Below is a pic of my team teacher, Kelly, going over notes from the Great Depression and New Deal powerpoint. (Kelly is 7 months preggo!)

3:45 - Left work, picked up Addi and headed for Grandma and Grandpa Aring's. Last week Grandpa bought 150 baby mallard ducks that we needed to go visit again before they got huge. Addi had so much fun!

...feeding the ducks grass

...Grandma helping Addi feed the baby ducks. Right after this shot Addi started to feel a little overwhelmed by all the ducklings and wanted out.

...then we had to go visit a few of the other birds too

...Grandma and Addi

5:30 Made supper quick, ate and picked up.

7:00pm Next was bath time, which is always Addi's absolute fav!

7:45pm Our little daredevil! She has stood all the way up without holding on before. Needless to say this has gotten taken away from her numerous times!

8:30 Bedtime routine for Addi and she is out right away. Then picked up the house some.

9:30 Jumped in the shower and got ready for bed.

10pm Did a few dishes by hand and then hit the bed.

::A Week in our Life - Day Two (4/20/10)

2010-04-21T06:23:00.001-07:00

6:13am Jumped out of bed (late as usual) and turned on the news.

6:20am Got ready for work, including putting calamine lotion on my arm where I got posion ivy from turkey hunting last week.

6:30am Got Addi up, moving and ready...Joe is still 'sick' and can't help. (By the way I say 'sick' because to me sick is something like the flu, but to Joe sick is a cold!)

7:40am Got to work and began trying to get things done and caught up...inlcuding updating my soon to expire standard teaching license to a master educator license. Then onto US History classes and homeroom in between.

Late morning - Geography students are working on planning their trip to Africa for the World Cup.

12:45 Break for lunch, it's Taco Tuesday at the Muskie Inn restuarant!

Afternoon classes - Then it's off to US History again for the afternoon. They are learning about the New Deal during the Great Depression. So they are making fold-its for their vocabulary.

3:50pm Finally done at work and heading home to pick up Adelinn so that we can hit the grocery store. (She was a major talker at the store to the point I had to start shushing her due to embarrassment :)

5:45pm Put groceries away, made supper, fed Addi, picked up supper, loaded dishwasher, and played with Addi. Joe came home and picked flowers from my hanging basket to put in Addi's hair. He showed her how to smell the flowers, which she did to the extreme. I should have recorded her smelling her flowers, it was so funny!

8pm Addi was getting tired and wanted to snuggle for a little while. Then off to start the bedtime routine with her and then myself. Joe ran to the neighbor's house and didn't get home until 10:45 so I was awake until then and of course we had to talk for awhile when he did get home. I knew I'd be tired in the morning, sounds like some caffeine will be needed for Wednesday afternoon!

::A Week in our Life - Day One (4/19/10)

2010-04-20T06:57:00.001-07:00

So I decided this year to take the Ali Edwards Week in the Life Challenge. I didn't do it last year, but enjoyed seeing everyone else's daily lives. I didn't really start with photos until I got to work. Already to a slow start, might not be a good sign...

6:10am Got up...late again. Got myself ready and then got Adelinn up and ready (Since Joe is 'sick' still).

6:55am Out the door and on the way to drop Addi off at Robyn's.

7:35am Got to work, checked my email and tried to start getting a multitude of stuff done. My desk is always a disaster this time of the year.

Morning - Checked lesson plans and found that the WWII packets are ready for next week.

Went to morning US History classes - they worked on WWII Europe and Pacific Maps...then off to Geography where the student teacher presented a powerpoint about Africa and the slave trade.

Afternoon classes - Students turned in their RAFT writing assignment to be graded and began working hard to finish their Great Depression Graphs and Questions in groups.

4:30pm Headed home with a terrible headache to play with Addi...she wanted us to play with her shoes! Wondered why she had different pants on than what I sent her in this morning...hmmm...

5:30pm Checked out the view from our deck of our five new trees we planted yesterday.

6:30pm Ate leftovers from last night. Mad that Joe ate the last of the ice cream, but had to let him because he is 'sick'.

7:30pm Addi and I went outside to feed the "doggies". Addi watched a plane in the sky and was of course fascinated.

8:15pm Got Addi ready for bed and then put her down for the night.

9:30pm Took shower, put dishes away and hit the bed.

::Baby Shower #2

2010-04-20T06:47:00.000-07:00

Currently I am working on planning a shower for a friend at work. Recently I made about 25 invites (the closest I've come to scrapbooking in quite awhile).

::Baby Shower

2010-04-20T06:23:00.001-07:00

Last month I helped give Megan and Kelli a baby shower along with Ginger and their sisters' Angie, Dawn and Julie. I hope all three baby girls are enjoying all their new stuff!

::The Easter Bunny

2010-04-15T13:36:00.000-07:00

We have yet to find something (or somebody) that Addi is scared of. She walked right up to the Easter Bunny and I put her on his lap....but this was the face she made as she stared at him! When we finally got her to look our direction we couldn't help but laugh!

::Bathroom Stamping

2010-03-12T06:21:00.000-08:00

I've been meaning to post this for a long time now, but just never got around to it. After redoing our bathroom decor I decided to stamp one small area of the walls. I used Stampin' Up stamps to create this look after having seen it in a Stampin' Up booklet. It was a lot of fun!

::Our Little Sledder

2010-01-15T12:59:00.000-08:00

Adelinn got to finally go sledding for the first time. Grandma Aring and Aunt Jenna bought her some super cute sledding gear. She was a rockin' sledder! She wasn't sure about the sledding part, but was excited to get to play with her doggies outside.

::Santa's Lap

2009-12-15T19:59:00.000-08:00

The first time produced no smiles, but there was no crying either! Success! photo by: Megan Klauer

::She's walking!

2009-12-02T17:59:00.000-08:00

We knew she was really close, but has only been taking one step then going down. Today she just took off and can walk across a room. So much fun...well at least for right now!

::My Family

2009-10-26T08:14:00.000-07:00

On Sunday we met some of my family in Muscatine to celebrate my grandparents 65th wedding anniversary. We had a lot of fun spending some time with the family. Wish everyone could have been there, but we'll be together soon with the holidays approaching.

::Loving Grandma Time

2009-10-07T19:10:00.000-07:00

::Bear Stories

2009-08-27T06:24:00.000-07:00

Last week my husband, Joe, and two of his buddies went bear hunting in Canada. They had a blast hunting and fishing. Joe was successful the first day out, as was his friend Lance (pictured on left). His bear weighed 305lbs and stood over 6 feet tall. I'm really excited for Joe and can't wait to see his bear after he gets it back from the taxidermist.

::She's Growing

2009-08-10T15:31:00.000-07:00

Adelinn is growing so fast and sits up really well now. We can't wait to see what she will learn tomorrow!

She learns so fast!

2009-07-23T07:52:00.000-07:00

Taught Adelinn how to "spit" yesterday and got it on camera!

{Smile Big}

2009-06-24T21:24:00.000-07:00

Paper from Cosmo Cricket, letters are Thickers, and picture perfect embellishment is from K&Company. LO from Page Maps.

::You Make Funny Faces

2009-06-24T20:59:00.000-07:00

Papers are Three Bugs in a Rug, letters are Thickers, and the butterflies are from the Paper Studio.

::Sitting Up

2009-06-24T20:50:00.000-07:00

Papers are Little Yellow Bicycle, letters are Thickers, alligator is from Paper Bliss and the green border is from K&Company.

Wedding Gift

2009-06-20T11:30:00.000-07:00

I made this wedding gift for a friend of mine, using one of her engagement photos. The photo was taken by Todd Boerema. (Who also did our wedding) I picked the key up at a flea market with this in mind.

Daddy Play Time

2009-06-18T21:41:00.001-07:00

Joe is always putting sunglasses on Addi. Snapped a few shots of them playing today.

Father's Day

2009-06-18T21:30:00.000-07:00

Four Father's Day cards this year! Joey's first! Used Cosmo Cricket papers.

{A Daddy's Love

2009-06-06T22:21:00.000-07:00

I loved this picture showing their special time together. I used My Mind's Eye paper, Thickers, and some K & Company stickers.

The journaling reads: When we first brought you home someone was always with you 24/7. It was Daddy's turn to watch over you as Mommy slept. He just couldn't get enough of you and started drifting off while holding you. When I woke up to feed you this is what I found. I couldn't resist taking a picture! :)

Cherish You Forever...

2009-05-18T14:44:00.001-07:00

B is for Baby

2009-05-18T12:06:00.000-07:00

This layout idea came from one that Ashleigh Dillin did on her blog.

Two more gifts}

2009-05-13T20:09:00.000-07:00

I've been dying to use my new frog punch and finally got a chance!

Miss Addi

2009-05-04T17:37:00.000-07:00

Grandpa

2009-04-27T16:52:00.000-07:00

This is another LO from Megan Klauer that I did for my Grandpa's 90th Birthday. The writing reads "I've seen and met angels wearing the disguise of ordinary people living ordinary lives. -Tracy Chapman" I struggled to find a good poem or saying to go with this.

Title...

2009-04-27T09:58:00.001-07:00

This weekend I was trying to decide on a name for my blog. I was holding my daughter and she had on her pink frog pajamas, my absolute fav on her, which is where the name came from. So then I began thinking...should the title be pink frog stories or pink frog pajamas, I'm still not sure. Any feedback?

Time with Daddy

2009-04-26T18:02:00.001-07:00

Had to share... Just when I thought it was safe to leave her alone with Dad. She had a poopy diaper and a little got on her onesie. Instead of putting on a clean onesie, Dad decided to cut the spot out! I took a picture so I could scrapbook it later.

Baby Bump

2009-04-26T16:27:00.001-07:00

B-Day Gift

2009-04-26T16:14:00.000-07:00

This is a checkbook cover I made for a friend's birthday.

Bathtime Layout

2009-04-26T15:59:00.000-07:00

This layout was inspired by one Megan Klauer did for her boys' bathtime.

Adelinn Jo Page

2009-04-26T15:05:00.000-07:00

This is a page I did with a photograph that Megan Klauer took.