The Stand-off

This is quite arguably Hayden's favorite place to be - the trampoline. It was the best darn purchase I think I've ever made. All the kids love it, and it can entertain them and their friends for hours at a time.

Yesterday, this was where the stand-off began.

Let me set the stage for you. Hayden is in the trampoline, and as you can see, it has a net all around it. There is a small door opening on one side of the trampoline. I have baby Brenna on me in the Bjorn, making it nearly impossible for me to actually crawl in there.

As usual...Hayden begins to jump. So far so good. Then, she loses her shoe. No big deal...right? WRONG!

She decides to throw a massive fit because her shoe is off and she wants it back on. Only it's in the farthest possible place in the trampoline for me to reach. So I say to her calmly, "Go get me your shoe honey and I will put it on for you" Simple enough....right? WRONG!

For some reason, this was not an appropriate thing for a mother to ask. Hayden did not want to get that shoe for the life of her. She wanted me, and only me, to get it for her. Of course, I try to reason with her (Yes I know she's only 19 months old, but what choice did I have?)

"Hayden honey, mommy can't get your shoe right now because it's too far for me and I have the baby."
Screaming, screaming, and more screaming.

So then I try my stern voice. (I'm pretty quick on my feet, eh?)
"Hayden, get me your shoe right now."

hmmmm...more screaming.

What now? The only logical next step....the THREATS!

"Hayden, if you don't get me your shoe right now, you are going to a time-out."

This time she screams and runs to the very corner that the shoe is in so that I can't get her either. (Momma didn't raise no dummy!)

How did the stand-off end, you wonder? After about 10 mintues of this banter, during which the baby has been awoken and is now crying, I decide to just leave her in the darn thing. "Bye-bye Hayden, mommy is going inside now."

What did she do? She happily went back to bouncing. Looks like we all know who the winner was this time!

The Absent-Minded Professor

I have often described myself as the dumbest smart person I know. I truly mean it and most people who know me might agree. How can someone who can breeze through school with very little effort, be so dumb and absent minded all the time? Like for instance, someone who brews coffee without the pot. Or loses their keys almost every single day. Or teaches high school students and yet can not for the life of her remember all of the 50 states (I know...pathetic).

There are so many more absent-minded stories about me that I would love for one day to share, but for now, let's just talk about the one that really has me ticked off at myself! CAMERAS!!!! Since Hayden has been born, I have lost my camera countless times, and usually right when I've needed it the most. The first one happened when she was a tiny baby, and I was so mad because of course mommies like to take pictures of their babies. I have yet to find that one...there went about $400 down the drain. Luckily, I had a back-up camera so I was able to at least use something. But.... I lost that one right before Hayden's first Christmas. There went that phot opt. About two months later, it resurfaced (thankfully) and I was off to happy picture-taking. But now, right when Brenna's growing every day so quickly, it's gone again!

So...in order to compensate, I've been trying to take pictures with my cell phone, but that only holds about five at a time. Not too convenient. And then, this weekend Todd reminded me that our new video camera takes still shots. Aha! Maybe the problem is solved. But wait....look at how they turn out...



(If you click on it you'll see what I mean)

Aaahhh....What's a dumb-smart girl to do....

What a difference five hours make....

Thanks to my wonderful husband, I was able to enjoy an amazing day! First, I slept in until 10am! That's right, moms of the world, 10:00 in the morning! That is a first for me in such a long time. Then, I enjoyed a kid free lunch with one of my best friends in the whole world.



Don't you think we look like sisters?? We were actually born on the same day, 10 minutes apart. Though we couldn't be more different, we have been best friends since we were 12. She is one of the very few people in my life who I can tell absolutely anything to, and I know she will love me no matter what! We joke (but really mean it) that we are soul mates....I can't imagine my life without her in it. Thanks Amy for an awesome lunch today.

Though neither of us wanted to leave, she had to go see her nephews, and I went to visit my 93 year old Nannie in a place called Country Villa. She suffered a heart attack last week and is now in rehabilitation, but man is she fiesty!!! I can only hope that I have as much energy as she does at that age. This is a picture of her last year on Easter with baby Hayden.



After about five blissful hours outside of the house by myself, I was so re-energized and ready to play mommy again. Back at home, Little Lo, Hayden and I went to get some frozen yogurt while Baby Brenna slept in her swing. Have I mentioned how much I ADORE baby swings? Without them, I doubt my kids would have ever taken naps! HA! Once she was awake, we had fun in the bath....





And now, we're all off to bed!

My little girl

About two weeks ago, my oldest little one started the 4th grade. I know it's so cliche for parents to say, but I honestly can not believe she is getting so big. It's funny to me how you can go through life and it feels like time is creeping by at a snail's pace....and yet, suddenly you are at a point where you look back and realize that, in fact, time flew by right before your eyes.

This was Logan on her first day of kindergarten....




And this is Logan now... on her first day of 4th grade....



What a beautiful girl she is!

Some of the amazing things this little one is up to these days include:

~Sending emails to her friends, relatives, and even some of mommy's friends!
~Rocking it out in hip-hop class(she loves learning breakdancing poses)
~Playing babies non-stop with her friends
~Justice clothes and accessories from claire's
~Making jewelry and scrapbooks
~Singing and dancing in her room with her sister (and sometimes all by herself - I just love catching her in those moments!!!)
~Practicing round-offs with her friends at recess
~Talking on the phone! (Yes, I have already considered getting her own private line due to the amount of calls she gets!!)
~Being the best big sissy day in and day out!
~Helping mommy around the house for extra $$ (especially when she wants to save up for something special)
~And of course, anything and everything related to AMERICAN GIRLS!

My little Logan is everything I ever dreamed she would be and so much more....she is bright, funny, witty, sarcastic, adorable, loving, thoughtful, empathetic, giving, polite, introspective, creative, and has an amazing heart for God. Her faith in her higher power is inspiring to say the least, and every day I get a glimpse of His miracles through her....

My little girl isn't so little anymore....

The Paci Keeper

Today was such a great day. Two of the three little ones have a bit of a cold, but they have been in such sweet spirits all day! I decided to have a quiet day at home and was a bit worried about how to pass the time with our active little Hayden. But we found plenty to do....

First let me say....Hayden LOVES her paci. I think her paci is her BFF. Sometimes she actually plays hide and seek with it. And when she finally finds it, she holds it in the air and says "PA-PA" at the top of her lungs. It is the cutest thing. Because of this extreme love for her paci, she feels that EVERYONE deserves to have one. In her big sister glory, she has taken it upon herself to be Brenna's Paci keeper. Whenever Brenna cries, Hayden will find her paci. If it falls out, Hayden demands that she put it back in. If Brenna looks sleepy, the paci better be there for her. It is really the cutest thing!!




Once Brenna was comfy with her Paci, Hayden had to entertain herself. She found that pouring water from one cup to another while trying to dry it up with baby wipes was a very fun past-time.


Unfortunately, mommy didn't think it was so fun to have puddles all throughout her kitchen. So instead, we both agreed that the sink would be a great playground for the day!!




And all of this before the first nap of the day! It's funny how staying at home with your kids will change your perspective. This, to me, marked a very successful morning!

Welcome Brenna Nicole!

Wow - I can hardly believe it's been 7 weeks since the birth of our baby girl! Brenna Nicole Maurer was born at 9:06am, Wednesday July 22nd. She weighed 8 pounds and was 21 inches long.



She was born with an incompatible blood type and therefore had to be placed under billi lights. She actually really enjoyed it in there. Precious little girl!



And here we are getting ready to leave the hospital with our new baby girl!



Shortly after bringing her home, our little Hayden decided she wasn't much fun to have around. Thankfully though, after about two weeks of total chaos, things began to settle down. Hayden started to realize this little bundle of joy was here to stay, and she even started to show signs of affection.



My biggest girl, Logan, has been such a huge help from day one. She is simply a blessing to us all and is the PERFECT big sissy!


Though some days I can hardly wait until the sun goes down, most of the time we are having so much fun. I am loving being a Family of Five!