Gigi and Josippi

Ashley's Prom!

2009-04-04T21:50:00.001-05:00

My Goddaughter is all grown up and going to her first prom!! Sniff!!

What color is my wall?

2009-03-23T17:36:00.003-05:00

There has been a bit of a debate over the color of my living room walls. What color do you think it is?

We hope you enjoyed The Simple Truths of Service Movie

2009-01-13T11:03:00.000-06:00

We hope you enjoyed The Simple Truths of Service Movie

Christmas 2008

2008-12-26T21:12:00.006-06:00

Christmas 2008 at Aaron and Sara's.

Bad camera...I know, we need a new one really bad.

Cora and I with a honey oatmeal face mask that Cora made from her Spa Factory.

Mom with the honey oatmeal face mask

Goofy Face

Cora with the honey oatmeal face mask

Another goofy face

Oh yeah

Budah

We had such a great time! Cora and I made the mask and lip gloss. We had lots of giggles and had so much fun!

Mom after Cora put the mint mud mask on.

MOVING

2008-11-22T16:12:00.003-06:00

We are moving! We found a bigger house only 11 blocks away from where we currenlty live. We are actually moving right now...except me. I'm sick with sinus infection and either my iron levels are down or I'm getting sick with something else because I can't even walk across the room without being totally drained of all energy. So everyone is moving my stuff for me. Kinda sucks!!!

Rylee's Birthday

2008-11-05T20:29:00.003-06:00

Rylee turned 11 on October 26th.

Here she is with the cake my mom made. Didn't Mom do a great job?

Blow out the candles!!!

For Rylee's birthday, I handed down my opal and diamond ring to her. When I was 15, my Grandma Strottman gave it to me when I was confirmed. Since Rylee and I both share the October birthstone, I thought it would be a perfect gift for her.

Here she is opening it..finally, after a month of Gigi tormenting her!

The ring

Rylee and Aunt Gigi

Happy Birthday Baby...I hope it was special!

Joe Drifting

2008-09-28T14:53:00.002-05:00

Hmmm...what's new???

2008-09-22T21:29:00.002-05:00

Well, not a whole lot going on in the Santolin house.

As you know, a few weeks ago I got T- Boned 3 blocks fr om our house. Nice? All is well and my car is on the road but is still in the need of surgery...speaking of..Since Joe has recovered from his surgery, my little blue turbo zip machine will now get hers. She needs a new undercarriage, possibly new struts in the front, some body work and paint to the front quarter and driver's side door. Lots more stuff I'm sure, but I'm not the car person in this family..

Joe got his new rear differential in his car...now the 56 Beetle just needs to be tore apart!

Cora is loving valley ball! She said they won their game tonight! She's been getting up really early for practice every morning. She is very committed to it. We're proud of her!

The dogs are fine. Fall arrived today so we know a freeze will be on its bitter way hence relieving poor Kenzo from his allergies.

Josippi is recovering well from his surgery and is back to normal duties. I still get on his butt when he dares to lift anything heavy in my presence...

Me? Well...nuthin new with me other than my hair, but that's a given. I can't ever seem to stop changing it. I knew I'd put that Barbering degree to good use some how!

The BIG Dance!

2008-09-13T22:32:00.010-05:00

Cora had her first school dance tonight! It was for 7th & 8th graders. She was so excited. We made jewelry to match her dress and did her hair up in curls. She had an absolute blast!

Getting ready..mom did her hair.

Here she is with dad.
A full view of the attire
What a perfect beauty...
The masterpiece.
Look at those blue eyes!
Mom and Cora.
Cora and Morgan.
Afterwards, at home. Tired but still wired from the excitement!

Sweetness.....

2008-09-09T18:57:00.002-05:00

Labor Day Weekend

2008-09-01T12:58:00.006-05:00

It was beautiful weather for our 2008 Labor Day weekend!
Saturday Cora and I were in the Cedar Rapids Freedom Festival parade. We walked for HASDA (Hawkeye Area Down Syndrome Association).

Here is Rylee and Majia holding the banner.

Cora and Rylee. Yellow and Blue are the colors for Down Syndrome Awareness. Tulips are the flower for DS.

The gang pre-parade.

Aunt Gigi and Mayson.

May and Bella.

On Saturday night, Cora and I went to Fairfax 16th annual USA Days.

Aunt Gigi and Mayson waiting for the little train to come pick us up for a ride.

Update

2008-08-25T06:19:00.002-05:00

I've been instructed by a family member that I need to update this.....

My batteries are dead in my camera so I have no new pictures to share. Sorry.

A couple of weeks ago I was on my way home from work...two and a half blocks away from home to be exact...and I got T-Boned. A lady pulled out from a stop, thinking she had a clear shot to cross the road, and hit me on the drivers side front wheel and door. I got a little bit of back issues from it, but nothing too bad. My car wasn't drivable but it's back up and running. Joe will get the body work done as soon as he is able to physically do that kind of work again...and now to that issue...

On August 12th, Joe had hernia surgery. About a week prior, he noticed the bulge in his lower abdomen. I made him go to the Dr ASAP and sure enough, it was a hernia. In his line of business we really couldn't put the surgery off so we had it done as soon as we could. Today is his first day back to work so wish him luck!!

Cora has started 7th grade and is also in volley ball and band, playing the flute. Where does time fly? She sure is growing up. A little too fast for my liking, but I can't stop time....

Nothing new with the dogs....

And that's it for now! I'll get some new pictures up soon.

Talk about cuddling..

2008-07-26T16:36:00.000-05:00

They keep growing!

2008-07-17T17:56:00.004-05:00

Sunflowers

2008-07-12T18:55:00.003-05:00

Outside my back door.

July 8th

2008-07-08T18:12:00.002-05:00

Cora and our sunflowers as they keep growing..

Three generations of Santolins

Dad's visit

2008-07-05T10:07:00.002-05:00

Dad Santolin came to visit for the first time. Here's a couple pictures of us on July 4th!

Cora and our sunflowers

2008-07-01T14:47:00.001-05:00

My little den

2008-06-29T07:00:00.003-05:00

I like to lay under the desk whenever mom is on the computer.

We'll miss you!

2008-06-17T06:19:00.002-05:00

Gramma Paula goes home today....we'll miss you. Come back SOON!!!! Next time, stay for good!

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY

2008-06-15T19:47:00.002-05:00

The Birthday Party

2008-06-08T08:56:00.010-05:00

Cora had a Luau for her 12th Birthday Party!

Here she is in the pool

Cora, Mayson, Rylee

Rylee, Mayson, Cora

Angie and Aaron

Mayson

Rylee

The birthday girl

Jaydo

Cora and Grama Paula

Maymay

Cora and Daddy

Cora and Grama Jo

Pinata!

Hi

2008-05-19T17:53:00.003-05:00

Mother's Day

2008-05-11T09:57:00.003-05:00

Happy Mother's Day to all

Stuff

2008-05-04T19:16:00.005-05:00

On Thursday, Joe and I celebrated our 9th anniversary. He got me an Alocasia plant. It is gorgeous!

We both left work a few hours early and had a nice supper and watched a movie.

I've been having some really weird dreams lately. Last night I dreamt that I had a baby boy, he was a day and a half old and we were in Walmart. Joe and I had nothing for this child. I had to find a way to afford to get a bassinet, a car seat, onesies and jammies for this baby. Apparently I drove there with him in my arms since we didn't have the car seat yet. The lady at Walmart was really nice and was trying to find us a good deal on supplies. Apparently she knew my sister, so she was going to give us $40 off the price of the bassinet. I found some onesies for newborns that were on clearance for $.50.

My son weighed around 5 pounds and was 19 inches long, but I never did find out his name. I know he had blond hair and was sleeping most of the time I was shopping with him. Joe was off doing something..someone he ran into was talking about doing a side job/painting a car..imagine that.

A few days prior, I had a dream I was pregnant and could actually feel it. Very very weird stuff.

Today I planted some seeds of mixed flowers. I'm excited to watch them grow and see what beauties I will have to enjoy all summer.

Tomorrow it is back to work. Thursday I get to begin my respite work with Mayson. I'm excited to have her for the whole day!

Earth Day

2008-04-22T06:03:00.004-05:00

We're trying to be green in our home. We have never once had to pay extra for garbage since we recycle everything we can.

Once it's financially possible, I'd like to get a hybrid vehicle as well. We've also talked about solar power if we were ever to get that far in life.

There are also a lot of green products now available for household cleaning, and I try to take my own bags with me when I grocery shop (remembering is the hard part).

Please, everyone, do your part to help...after all, it is Earth Day!!!

Boring life..

2008-04-19T20:20:00.005-05:00

Since we only have Cora every other weekend, it sure make the rest of our time pretty boring. That 11 yr child of mine sure make my life so much better!!!

I think I've had one of the most boring Saturdays in a LONG time. What did I do?????

I slept in until 9!!!!! Holy COW! I got up, had my coffee and read the paper on line. Once the caffeine kicked in I went to the YMCA for a swim. I have osteoarthritis from the hips down, and major neck/back/spine issues as well. The swimming really helps and I've lost a good 10 lbs since I started in Novemeber. Keep in mind that I couldn't swim or do about ANYTHING for a good 2 months after being diagnoised with anemia and severe vitamin deficiancy. Now that I've got that under control, I can get back on track with my 5:30-6am morning swim. It sure makes a huge difference in my daily stamina.

Back to today. After the swim, I hit the pet store and I switched the dogs food AGAIN. We will be testing Mr Kenzo for all sorts of allergies this winter (once he's been off steroids for 3 mths). I started my own research on food allergies and switched him to an expensive grain free kibble about 2 weeks before the blasted pollen came aournd. So, I've now switcked him again to a less expensive grain free food but with very acceptable ingrediants.

For those with the MayMay withdrawls, here is a video of her saying hello on the phone. Normally it's ellollollollollo but the volume is low.
hello

Word to the wise...

2008-04-11T21:54:00.001-05:00

Don't feed pre-teen girls sugar engorged cinnamon rolls at 9:45 if you want them in bed by 10...

The sleepover

2008-04-11T19:29:00.011-05:00

It's Friday night and we're having a sleep over!! Popcorn and music. Pillow fights and makeup. Boy talk and scary movies. Well, at least that's how it was when I was a little girl. Not anymore.
Cora has my niece, Rylee spending the night. This generation of sleep overs consists of Karaoke and cell phones!

The girls had supper, made homemade cinnamon rolls, and then............

KARAOKE!!!

And then we had manicures.

Cora chose black and gold for her school colors and Rylee chose blue and yellow for Down syndrome awareness.

RAIN RAIN GO AWAY!

2008-04-10T19:42:00.002-05:00

Jeeze I've had enough of all this wet weather! From a snow-filled winter to a rainy spring start, it just wont end!

Right now we are under a tornado warning. Poor Kika, our 10 yr old Shiba, is scared to death of thunder. When we first got her, she was utterly terrified of storms and would wake me up at 2am.

Kenzo

2008-04-08T17:47:00.010-05:00

It's that time of year again, the pollen is in the air and causing all sorts of scratching in our house. Kenzo, our 7 yr old Shiba, has allergies. He's scratching and biting at his skin constantly. We started him on an antihistamine but it's not helping. Back to the Prednesone. An oral steroid is the only thing that will stop the hair loss, bloody scratches and constant itching. Could you imagine your skin itching 24 hours day? Poor buddy.

The vet will only give him 90 more pills, and our first frost wont be for another 6-7 months! Steroids are not meant for long term and are not good for the body. This winter we will need to get him allergy tested so we know where to start with injections (possibly) that may or may not work. Boy is he going to hate us for a while!

Here are a few pictures of Kenzo

This winter, normal and healthy looking

A few years ago..bad quality but you can see by his right eye that there is blood from scratching. The left eye was kind of gooey. Steroids and antibiotics cleared it up. If we don't put him back on the medicine, he'll look just like this again. Poor buddy.

Check's in the mail!

2008-04-07T17:46:00.006-05:00

We got a check today! Just a little bit of cash from Microsoft. Joe and I were unsure what the heck this was for so I thumbed through my memory bank..and thumbed and thumbed...and then I remembered..

Months ago, heck maybe even years ago, I got something from Microsoft..something to do with a class action suit. After trying to sift through the legal mumbo jumbo, I realized that I might qualify for some type of monetary settlement. Of course, I didn't expect to see anything from it, but I thought I might as well give it a try. What's a little bit of time on the computer? So I got online, filled out the forms and hit the submit button. Never thought a thing of it since.

After a crappy Monday, it was good to come home to that!

Sunday....

2008-04-06T18:28:00.002-05:00

Yesterday was gorgeous. The sun was shining, the air was fresh. The wind was a little crisp but then again, it is April in Iowa.

My tulips are on their way and I've got these strange little purple/blue flowers growing in my yard. I've never had these delicate little blossoms arrive before, and I'm not sure what brought them this year!

We've had a pretty mellow weekend. We did some light housework and laundry. Let me tell you, it was not a weekend for sweeps on TV cuz our viewing pleasures were far from pleasurous. B-o-r-i-n-g!

I got out my beading and tried to get the creative juices flowing, to no avail. I put it all back and decided it was just a weekend to do nothing.

Supper is in the oven. I was craving Oven Fried Rice..such an easy and great dish. Joe might run up to the store to rent a movie. We're both crawling out of our skin from boredom yet neither of want to do anything about it. Sigh.

Neither of of ever thought we'd be excited for a Monday to come. I guess we're just not use to having NOTHING TO DO over a weekend!

My First Post

2008-04-02T17:45:00.003-05:00

This is my first attempt at blogging, so please be patient with me!