Happy New Rear!

The kids & I got home from my folks today and are settling in as Michael works the crowd at the Hyatt's big New Year's Eve shindig. We had a great Christmas filled with fun and family. More to follow on that later - I'll try to make that happen before Easter, haha.

In celebration of the New Year I am posting my silly photo from back in the day... way back when I was the groggy stay at home Mom of one infant and spent my waking hours playing dress up or dress down with my little dude for photo shoots. I must enjoy the silliness while I can, there may come a day that Hayden will aspire to greatness and be appalled that I posted this photo. Hopefully he won't get famous and then notorious, that would surely result in a display of my photoshopping on Before they Were Stars.....

It's Beginning to Look Alot Like A Sleepless Christmas...

Hayden is sooooo excited for Christmas this year. We are at my folks house already but are awaiting the arrival of Daddy tonight and Cousins tomorrow. H is pretty much in orbit over the cousins. They dote on him fiercely and he would probably sit on the porch and wait for them if it was permitted. I didn't realize how much power his excitement held until I heard him on the monitor singing and playing at 5:30 this morning. That's right folks - FIVE-THIRTY AM! I went up to discuss this with him and he was wide awake. He explained that he was making sure not to miss anyone arriving. Good gravy. What happens tomorrow morning when it's the intoxicating combo of cousins and Santa Claus? I shall begin beseeching all higher powers for a Christmas Miracle of sleeping in.

I should also mention his super secret big present was carefully tucked away in an obscure closet in my parents basement. In four years he has only looked at this closet once. But yesterday while I was setting up Bailey's sleeping quarters he thought it looked like a nifty place to explore. Despite his preliterate status, he knew exactly what words were on the side of this box that was hidden all the way in the back. "Look Mommy! Pa has a Polar Express!" Excellent. So I revved up my fibbbing machine and got us the heck out of there. Fortunately he is still young enough to be distracted and will be semi-surprised on Christmas morning. Such shenanigans!

Bailey's First Christmas Portrait

We are getting ready to load up and scoot off to my folks for the holiday but I just had to post this pic from last year. Of course we had to be sure that Bailey had her 1st Christmas portrait with Daddy and the Santa hands. As you can see, she thought the whole production was tad strange. But we got our precious pic! Bailey was 10 months old in this photo.

Holiday Greetings from 2007

This has been a hectic holiday at the Marx house so our cards for this year will be belated. Look out for a snappy New Years greeting soon. Here is last years collage with tender MiniMarx moments. Despite their ability to wind eachother up there is lots of affection between these two. Just this morning as soon as I picked Miss Bailey up from her crib she hugged me and said "See Haydee Mama, See Haydee!" followed of course by "See Daah, See Daah!". So off we went to find the boys down the hall.

Hayden's 1st Christmas

Here is Hayden's 1st Christmas portrait. He was about six weeks old at this point. We had this done at Penney's and I remember being so excited that Michael got to wear the gloves and sleeves for this picture. Being new to the Mommy scene at that point, I hadn't figured out how they got this photo done, I just knew I wanted this sweet pic!



Of course, we also had to deck our new dude out in holiday duds. Michael found this fantastic reindeer ensemble at the mall and it was perfect for a first Christmas. So we propped our little guy up in the corner of his crib for a photo shoot. Doesn't he look excited? We had just made a trip to Kentucky to visit my folks and to meet up with my Grandparents and siblings, so we opted to spend this Christmas in our own home just the three of us. It was nice and mellow, which was just what two french fried newbie parents needed!

In my family, it is a tradition to do a puzzle on Christmas day. So I felt compelled to get Hayden a puzzle for his big day.

We can't get enough of good books at Casa Marx and so we picked this one up and signed the inside for Hayden to treasure. It has been a popular bedtime story for him ever since.

We couldn't let H's first football season pass by without making sure he had some Redskins apparel. He comes from a long line of Skins fans. (His father and his father before him and so on...)

After a long morning of being propped up next to presents, Hayden was all tuckered out! He fell asleep with his new Benjamin Bear. It is a Christensen family tradition to give a bear for each child's 1st Christmas. I don't know for sure, but I am guessing Michael and I caught a nap pretty soon after that as well. It was a while before H was sleeping for long stretches so we were all in need of some holiday slumber!

Festival of Lights

Tonight is the first night of Hanukkah so I thought I'd share a few photos from years past. This one is Hayden's first Hanukkah and we were at Michael's Grandmother Baba's house for a family party. In this pic, H is just over one month old. What a little munch!

Here is a pic of Myself, Michael and Hayden lighting the menorah from 2005. We had to watch him a bit more closely that year!



This is Hayden's Super Serious Hanukkah pose. He is wearing a handmade yarmulke that my folks brought back from their trip to Isreal that year. Michael scored a football version that you can sort of see in the picture above. I don't recall for certain, but he may have gotten his first taste of potato latke's at this shindig. Yum!

Tinkle, Tinkle, Little Star!

After a day full of feelings and fussiness, Princess Busybee decided to go out on a high note. After we finished brushing teeth she strutted her stuff over to the commode and announced "Potty! I do Potty, OOOOkaaaay!" Since she seemed so determined I went over and hooked her up. Darned if our Junior Mint didn't get the job done. Very cool! This is not the first official weewee in the porcelain god for her; she has dabbled in the past. However, this is the first time that she has announced and followed through so that makes it a pretty big deal for us! She must be into Yuletide Milestones since last year at Christmas time she took her first steps. Perhaps we should all take bets on next years development...

Bad to the BoBoBone...

As the festival of phlegm continues to reign over Casa Marx, nerves are growing a bit raw. Even all of the extra power granted to us by the "Pediatrician" cannot coverup the cooped feelings of the MiniMarx's and their keepers.

Tonight Miss Bailey sauntered over and announced "I do diapee, I do diapee peese." The whole time she was doing the sign for change wtih her little but mighty hands. I am not one to turn down a cooperative diaper change so I got right on board. Quick as she was bare bottomed, Miss Thing scampered off and then looked back at me, "I do baaah, I do baaah!" Well, alrightee then! If you want a bath so be it!

Hayden was not about to be torn away from his precious Polar Express movie so we bid him a fond farewell and headed for the tub.

Once his flick had concluded he did as instructed and turned off the TV to come and find us. But along the way there was a feline fracas. (Cue the dramatic music here.) Poor tired Hayden came completely unglued because BoBo was standing in his way and wouldn't move. It was some kind of warped low noon on the stairs of all places.

So I sat with my boy and loved him through the non-trauma. When he began to calm down, he looked up at me with his big eyes and tear stained cheeks, "Mommy - BoBo is going to be getting coal. He is a bad kitty and he is off track. Santa will bring him coal! He knows."

Poor BoBo, so much for the tuna he would have surely asked for if anyone was wacky enough to put him on Santa's lap!

Here is an early photo off our furry babies trying to take over Hayden's bouncy turf when he was just a wee babe. At the time we found it just sweet and amusing, now we know it was the beginning of an ongoing struggle to the the Junior Alpha Male of Casa Marx!

Bambi & the Blue Plate Special

So Here is the preface to my tale:


About three months ago when Hurricaine Ike struck, the power was out in our area for five days. This generated a bit of a quest for us - we had gone five days without power and therefore five days without television. By the time day five rolled around I wanted to be left alone long enough to just say we had no power for a week. But of course the power went on while Hayden was brushing his teeth. He saw the nightlight turn on and got all sorts of ideas. Almost like a reflex, I fibbed right over that. He got a hasty explanation and hooray from Mommy about how wonderful it was that we got enough power for his nightlight and oh what a great thing that was. Since that worked, when he inquired about watching shows the next morning a plan was hatched. He didn't just ask for tv time... he asked if we had enough power for tv time. So what did I do? I LIED! "No sweetie, we didn't get enough power for that. But guess what? We got enough power this morning to keep our food cold again! That is awesome!"


Amazingly, we have been able to run with this fable for three months now, even though our kids have watched tv in other homes since September. Hayden's birthday at the beginning of November was a special day because Daddy had called around and even sent a few emails to score us some extra power. When this was explained, H said "Enough for a show Mama?" And I replied, "No Baby - better than that... enough for a whole movie!". Needless to say Daddy was quite the hero that day. On a few other occasions we aquired some bonus power but have otherwise been TV free (When the kids are awake that is! A girl's got to have her Grey's!).


And then everyone at our house began to get sick this weekend. So, we got some extra power from the doctor since when you are sick you need to cuddle up and rest. Thank you to the Pediatricians!

And now for my tale:

This afternoon, I was just not up for another round of Monsters Inc. or Polar Express. So I suggested Bambi. This idea was a hit. We have watched this once or twice before and managed to glaze over the offing of Bambi's Mother. It turns out, the third time is a charm....

Hayden asked what happened to Bambi's Mother and after a haphazard attempt at dodging I decided to offer a simple and honest explanation. So I explained that the Hunters took her. It will come as no shock to most of you that his response was "Why?", after all that is the standard response to any dialogue with a 4 year old. SO we talked about how his bug book explains that spiders eat bugs and some bugs even eat other bugs. Then we worked our way to things that people eat, bacon from pigs, hamburger from cows, chicken nuggets from chickens etc. I wrapped up (or so I thought) with a concluding statement about some people hunting deer so that they could have that for food.


I must admit I was a tad full of dread. This could be shocking news for a young fellow with a tender heart, right? WRONG! Hayden pondered this for a brief moment and then said, "Mommy, I want to eat deer."



Once I got over my shock, I felt an odd sense of relief at this reply. I had been worried he would decide to quit eating meat. If we combined that with Michael's anti-bean policy and tofu aversion what would be left for mealtimes? SO at least that wasn't a concern. We talked a bit more and I shared that I had eaten deer before and then mentioned that Aunt Nissa had too. (Sorry sis - you did spend Turkey Day on the hunt...)



Hayden thought that was fascinating and wanted to call Aunt Nissa to discuss it. But alas, she was working so I threw Pa under the bus and told Hayden that Pa ate deer and might have been hunting when he was younger. I went with might so that I had an out if this freaked him out. But there was no need for concern in that department either. Hayden gave it some thought and then announced that he would like to go get deer with Pa. GREAT.


We moved on as I needed to throw some lunch together. "Who wants chicken nuggets?" I called out... Without turning his head away from his precious Bambi movie, H announced that he wanted deer. He seemed a little peeved that I hadn't remembered this. Once I explained two times that we just didn't have any deer in the house, he was ready to concede and happily ate his chicken while he watched his lunch of choice frolic through the cartoon forest with a skunk and a rabbit.


Go figure.

If You Give a Bailey Some Music...

Here's a little word to the wise for our dear readers....

If you give a Bailey some music, she'll probably want to wiggle.

If you wiggle too, she'll say "No, No, No!" And then asked to be picked up.

If you pick her up, she'll want you to dance with her.

If you dance with her she'll remember twirling. Remembering twirling will make her say "Cuhcle peese" (Circle Please).

If you comply and twirl your pretty girl she will probably ask for more.

When you twirl some more, her cold symptoms will be sent into overdrive and her nose will spring a nasty leak.

This will send you dashing for tissue after plopping your sweet germ factory on the floor.

Dashing for the tissues will call attention to the cd player under the cabinets, reminding her of the music.

And if you remind her of the music.... she'll probably want to wiggle again.

Man Oh Man!

H's preschool uses a program called Handwriting Without Tears to teach the kids about writing. They have wooden manipulatives that can be placed in different combinations to form each letter of the alphabet. One of their activities at the end of September was called "Mat Man". The class worked together to make a stick figure and then the students had a chance to draw their own renditions of the wooden fellow.

I have often called H the "Fastest Crafter In Town". The land of fine motor activites has never held much charm for him. So I wasn't surprised when Miss Joy showed me his first attempt at drawing Mat Man:

Being the With-It gal that she is, Miss Joy spotted the hastiness and artfully thanked him for such a good first try. While he smiled over this, she deftly said she would just love to see what he could do on his second try. And what follows is proof that she is on the fast track to sainthood... haha.

Now this may not be fit to frame ornately and hang in the Louvre but it sure gets classified as a masterpiece by Team Hayden! This was a project for the portfolio that the teachers keep for each student but Miss Joy was fully aware of it's magnitude for us as Hayden's keepers and she let me bring it home so that Michael could take a peek at both versions. He was understandably floored and we gushed over the boy longer than his attention span even allowed. Once he was off to sleep I scanned the triumphant paper and promptly made it our computer wallpaper. Ahhh, the modern version of sticking it up on the fridge with a magnet. That's how you know if you've made it!

Uh Oh!

Did you know that if you leave a green Fruity Cheerio inside the diaper wipe container it will end up all gushy and soggy? The culprit remains nameless but I still have a new wrinkle in my brain about cheerios and wipes....

1st Day of Preschool

This was a big year for Sir Hayden. On September 2nd he headed out quite happily to his first day of Preschool. He is in a wonderful program and has really loved his first taste of school. Here is our big boy on the front porch with his official book bag on that fateful morn...Can you tell it was a bright, bright sunshiney day?

Every day he gets signed in and out by Mommy. Sometimes Miss Bailey employs her quickfinger superpowers and signs him out while we wait for pickup. All the kids have to wash their hands each morning before doing anything else in the classroom. Hooray! I just love the effort to minimize the petri dish-like environment of a classroom. Wish we had done it with those fifth graders and their big kid germs when I was teaching!

In the Four Year Old program, the students are also supposed to sign themselves in each morning. Right now Hayden has a faint outline of his name over which to trace, as he gets better he will get to write in his own empty space. We are thrilled with Hayden's teacher, Miss Joy. He adores her and can't wait to get to school to see her. He has even given her a train name.... Miss Donald. The other day he announced that he wanted her to come to our house for Christmas. Joy is particularly great with the details that make our little fellow feel special. Before school started she made a home visit to get to know H on his own turf. She learned all about his favorite things including his fascination with calendars and then made sure that his first class job was as calendar helper. Hayden is really blossoming at school, and as a bonus Bailey gets to go to her own playgroup with kids her size on one of big brother's school days. We are grateful that this has been such a positive experience for all of us!

A Look at Snuggling...Then and Now

Lately the kids have gotten their kicks playing "Night Night" in our big bed. I will freely admit that it is amusing and is also an excellent stall tactic at their own actual bedtimes! So I snapped a pic of them a few weeks ago which reminded me of a fun pic I had from when Bailey was about 6 weeks old. My how my babies have grown!

Waht the &*^#!

Oh the humanity! Those of you keeping up with all things Marx (and why wouldn't you?) should recall the laundry drama that we recently endured and survived with Bailey's precious Wah.

Consequently when Wah fell to a perilous perch as the van door opened at the end of November I felt compelled to document the incident. Proof of divinity was clear that cold day as Bailey babbled in her car seat, unaware of the delicate rescue operation that needed to occur.

Sadly, Big Bro was already out of his enclosure and wandering the garage freely under the pretense of helping with Bailey Boo. Again, higher powers prevailed and he heeded Mommy's frantic whispers to be hush hush about the situation. Soooo, I got the camera, nabbed my shot and then retrieved WahWah with much caution. It should be noted that this was most wonderful since we were unsure of the spare Wah's whereabouts at the time of this sticky situation.

Happily, Wah number two was recovered later that afternoon during naptime. SOMEONE had stuffed him into the front of our rolling cooler after Mommy and Daddy had cleaned it out. The cooler was making noise from another stashed toy which led to the big reveal of Wah #2's hiding place. And now we know that even noisy toys can do their part to keep harmony in a home.

Just Say No to the Highlighter at the End of the Tunnel...

Ahhhh, our delicate little flower. How she loves to explore the world around her. These days, much of her efforts are focused on things that are "Not for Bailey" including my junk drawer in the kitchen. I have nabbed her in the act of writing implement theft on a number of occasions but this day...December 7th 2008 she took things a step further.

As I turned to face this lovely lass I discoverd her sniffing the highlighter. Being the excellent judge of distance that she is at the ripe old age of 22 months, the result was a bit of a "Toddler Glamour Don't" if I do say so.

Like any conscientious Mother, I determined that a photo was in order and then got distracted with breakfast prep. Michael came down later and found her in this state. He suggested that I get the pic taken if it was so necessary and then we could clean her up and cut her off from whatever fumes she could be having fun with. Ahhh, it takes a village. I concurred and now our gals wayward choice is forever here for you to behold and of course - to haunt her in any political dabbling down the road.

Teach Your Siblings Well...

It is no secret that the Haydenmonster can lean a bit towards the 'physical' side of playtime. Over the years (all four of them) we have had many rounds about wrestling, headbutting, pouncing, etc...

He has unknowlingly trained his sister in his manhandling ways and she can now pounce and push with the best of them most days. SO today they start up before naptime and she ended up sprawled out on his lap and the floor. He wasn't so sure that being pinned was a desirable outcome and began to protest...

BAILEEEEEY!!!! I am NOT Playdough!

Haha, what goes around comes around - and please note that I say that with much love.

Counter Offers...

It getting to be the most wonderful time of the year again... bring on the tinsel and lights! I am not a big fan of Christmas shtuff appearing prior to the day of the Turkey but now that the Pilgrim Fest has come and gone I am ready to roll. That would be an understatement for Hayden. So yesterday we broke out the decorations and puttered on all things festive after naptime. I am going to remember this next year - overall it was a great use of our energy for what is typically a rather squirrelly point in the day.

Anyhooo... I have a few things I like to put above the kitchen cabinets so I scaled great heights yesterday with the aid of one of the ankelbiters stepstools. H came trotting around the corner and spied my shenanigans. As an apprentice in the world of law and order he was rather horrified at my antics. Junior Safetyman admonished me about eight different ways for doing something dangerous. I reassured him and explained that I was moving slowly, being careful, using the stepstool, not fooling around and oh yeah - I am the grownup. He accepted my response and continued chattering about other things.

At this point Bailey popped her head up on the other side of the counter and squealed "Hehyooo Mammmaa!" I smiled and returned her salutation taking a millisecond to reflect on her infectious cuteness. Then I realized that she was on my stepstool.

Miss Quickfingers had managed to move with stealth and speed - not a new thing for her I must admit. She took off with the stepstool and left me quite literally high and dry. Of course this had to be right after I went on and on with Hayden about how careful and safe I was being. LOVELY!

So I smiled at my first born, ate a little mental crow and asked him if he was interested in rescuing Mommy. Luckily he said yes and happily ran off to bring me his stepstool which allowed me to dismount the kitchen counter safely. I do believe I would have been fine if the situation had demanded a little leap but I am so pleased the H played the gentleman and helped me down.

Way to Grow

So last night H had a Code Orange Meltdown at bedtime despite the existence of a solid night-night routine. What's that all about? Michael and I went in to his room figuring he was out of whack and needed some extra reassurance. Our plan was to make this happen lickety split and then we could scoot downstairs and catch up on Criminal Minds.

When moseyed into the danger zone and dispensed hugs and soothing words. Eventually H settled down enough to let his usual stall tactics take over. He can really turn on the conversational charm when it suits his purposes and proceeded to spout forth all sorts of opinions and theories about the world.

All of this fit pitching had left Sir H very hungry and very thirsty. He was quite sure it was a major problem and we assured him that it could easily be remedied -- in the morning. He explained that you needed to eat lots of good food. So much good food that it would fill your belly and then fill up your throat and theeeeeeeen it would push up your neck so high and THAT is how you grow!!!!

So now you know, that's how it works!

So Much for My Powers of Observation...

Hayden has been dressing himself for a while now and I am loving it! Of course, getting things on the right way is an ongoing challenge. We somehow managed to work out a truce where he is expected to wear his clothes the right way on preschool days and has wiggle room on other days. Fine by me - I am a big fan of picking your battles.

So this week when I picked H up, Miss Joy asked me if Hayden had been dressing himself lately. At the time he was putting his own coat on. (This is something the kids are supposed to be working on to be self sufficient in preschool.) I smiled and said yes, feeling proud of us for coming along in the coat department.

Miss Joy added that was sweet and she had noticed his clothes on backward a few times recently. I took a better look at my boy and sure enough his pants were on backwards. Aaaagh! I have been battling morning migraines more frequently lately for some reason and am clearly not policing the details so effectively. Whoops. I am not overly concerned about him looking silly in his backward clothing, I was just pleased with our truce since it helped him understand that sometimes he needs to do what is appropriate rather than whatever he wants.

I realize that with so many new fangled "tagless" tshirts it can be a task to keep things straight for the little guys so it is not neccessarily sneakiness on his part. Oh well, I'm sure we'll have things straightened out before he goes on his 1st job interview! haha...

A Day in the Life of Princess Busybee

Hello all,

Everyday I am learning and growing. In fact just today I put numerous new wrinkles in my brain. Here is just a sample of all the knowledge harvested on this lovely autumn day...
-Bailey


BoBo is not at all interested in playing ring around the rosie.

Highlighters are not for hardwood.

The fish at Hayden's Preschool is meant to stay in its container. Taking off the lid and attempting a breakout is not to be repeated.

When Mommy says no to Mini M&M's at the store, it doesn't help to take it straight to the cashier.

When building a bubble lake in the bathroom sink it is not acceptable to suck on your bubble soaked fingers - there are no exceptions for sassy creatures cutting a tooth.

The stacking turtles in the bathtub are not cups. "Yum Yum Nummy" should not be bathtime vocabulary.

And now I am off to butter up Daddy, Mommy is fleeing the scene to celebrate the arrival of another adult....

Two Cents From Hayden...

ft6a3Srwrf, H V GNVJ C
VNVS GF FG KKJNONONKMOYNMOUINUJBKUKMJUKKULLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLCR4MKCIKCNVUCNACI4UC4N3U3CBEY3UIBE4YXCI3YECB7777777RCBECYEBCI7BRIY7B CIYMCBGYBCVBREUGTVTI
MOMMHY
BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

BAILEY

Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of a Good Parade...

When we moved last year we were excited to find a development full of young families. Our neighborhood is just a few years old and since we have lived here there have been several fun events to help folks get acquainted. On the 4th of July we had a parade with all of the kids and even several of the pets. Since we had lots of boxes in the basement and live in a town where the train literally runs through the center of main street a train theme seemed appropriate. So, I cut a few of our larger boxes into train outlines and we had the kids color them. Michael put on his MacGyver (Yes I know I am dating myself there...) hat to strap them on either side of the stroller. The kids got a real kick out of their float and choo-chooed their way through the parade. Of course regardless of how crafty their parents were, the highlight turned out to be yummy popsicles once the festivities wrapped up.

Can I Buy A Vowel?

Here is a fun pic of Hayden from July. We have had our fridge letters for some time now and for the most part Senor Destructo has amused himself with scattering them all around the floor. However, this past year as he mastered the alphabet and began to get the concept of each letter being able to make certain sounds he took the arrangment of these magnets a bit more seriously. Here he has triumphantly spelled his version of "Refrigerator". He was so pleased with this that we had to pose for a photo with his feat of creative phonics.

Not Such a WahWahWonderful World...

Here's a pic of Sweet Bailey when she was about 5 months old. She's playing with what is now her super serious lovey, WahWah the Monkey. We call him WahWah since that's Miss Things version of a monkey's vocalizing. Anyhooo... Wah is a source of major reassurance in our young gal's world. She was even unable to make it through an informal family photo (see below) this June without remaining attached to her precious WahWah.


Since I have subscribed to a multitude of parenting periodicals and email services and manage to skim at least half of this cruicial information, I have been hip to the lovey scene for some time. H was so into lovey's he had what we jokingly dubbed the Holy Trinity (A Cow, A Blue Teether Bear & a White Elephant that was a gift - no joke...) I am a big advocate for stashing extra versions of lovey's and rotating them out. This was paramount for Hayden because - and I say this with all the love a Mommy can muster - H was a pukey little dude. We had to have spares of everything for that young man just to avoid violating health codes. So, of course I have multiple WahWahs. Quick as this jungle creature was promoted to chosen one status I dispatched my people to nab a spare.


Well, this weekend I was running laundry and snuck Wah into the wash. Immediately I tossed the spare out so that Wah's absence would not be noticed. Then came the massive error in judgement.


Bailey loves to help start the washer and we have a new fangled front loading machine. So without thinking, when she followed me back into the laundry room I let her help me start the machine. Big whoop, I already had my stowaway monkey loaded up and ready for suds. Then as the machine kicked on disaster struck.


The heavily loaded machine began to spin and Bailey started to shriek. The faster the spinning the faster and louder her mental state spiraled out of control. Being the sympathetic nurturer that I am I think to myself good gravy girl, get it together it's time to leave this room and go play. Then I glanced down and realized that WahWah the 1st was not stashed quite so well. There he was leg and face smashed up agains the window spinning round and round right at her eye level. AAAAGH!


Parenting can be pretty political so I went straight for the spin. No pun intended. I vehemently denied what was very clearly in front of us and assured Bailey that Wah was safe and sound in the hallway. I wrestled our way out as quickly as possible to grab Wah #2 off of the floor and prove my deceptive point. Poor Bailey was rattled to the core and tried to break back into the laundry room by pounding on the door hysterically. After much snuggling and distractions I was able to calm her down. Of course I spent much longer chastising myself for such an avoidable catastrophe. Egads.


And where were the boys during all of this hoopla? Off at Waffle House for 'man time'. My darling hubby was off hanging out with Hayden and all of the local truckers nibbling on buttermilk waffles by the interstate. This was supposed to buy me some quiet time. Too bad I wrecked that plan! It's always something.....

Bedtime Shenanigans

It's always fun at the end of the day when the kids are stalling and the grownups are ready to crawl out of their skin in seach of a quiet corner....

As everyone in the free world knows, Hayden is a tad interested in trains. Everyone at our house along with neighbors, assorted relatives and friends has a train name and Hayden's room in now called his "shed". Fine by me - shed schmed, just sleep in it! This Fall he got to watch The Polar Express at my folks house and that now rivals his passion for all things Thomas. We watch videos from the soundtrack on YouTube pretty regularly around here and Hayden has basically memorized three of the songs. I know this because I can hear him singing them on the monitor all throughout quiet time. I must say that with his rendition of "Believe" he is giving Josh Groban a run for his money. haha! At the same time that the Polar Express obsession began my Mother found a north pole train blanket sleeper while out shopping. This find has been dubbed "My Polar Express Pajammies" and is now the only pair of pj's in which H wishes to slumber.

The caveat is that "Edward" (H's train name) has actually been stripping down to his pullup once we leave him at bedtime. Several times now he has been picked up in the morning with just his pullup. Nice. Once he even filled his precious pj's with trains from his train table and zipped them in. We had to carry them down to breakfast and dine with the fleece wrapped engines. So tonight, I determined that we weren't using these jammies. After a two night tour in the "shed", they needed to be washed. So after much discussion, H ended up in his astronaut pajamas. In an effort to rev up the enthusiasm, Michael oohed and ahhed over H's getup and asked if his jammies made him want to go into outer space. H replied, "No Daddy, they just make me happy to go to sleep." Fine by us! Must not have been entirely true though since he definitely played trains, sang some songs and possibly did some jumping once we left.

As for Princess BusyBee, she had strong feelings about avoiding a new diaper at bedtime. As I wrestled with her on the bed and glanced around to see if Vince McMahon was going to announce a winner, I finally managed to interpret her screeching. She was demanding a turn on the potty. As soon as I realized this and asked if she needed to go potty, she ceased with the thrashing and said, "Yeah". In the calm that followed I suggested she scoot off the bed and head to the facilities. To which she replied "OK" and sprinted off to the potty. After that we were a-ok for the diaper and off to bed we went. Well, after she got Hayden to loan her a few trains for her room that is.... Monkey see Monkey do!

Prayer Preschool Style

Many of you know that we started outsourcing some of H's education this year and sent him off to Preschool. Sometime before he starts Kindergaten I'm sure I'll get caught up enough to blog about that big day. Anyhow, he is attending a wonderful preschool program and adores his teacher Miss Joy. Most preschools in the area are religious so he is getting a little dose of holiness along with his ABC's. Since we have been a less than churchy crew thus far it has been intriguing and even amusing at times to hear his ideas as things trickle home from preschool.


Sweet Hayden has always been a snuggly creature and aging up into preschool land has not altered this quality. Several weeks ago, he was feeling very huggy and when I went to put him down after a snuggle he said "No Mommy, I just need lots of hugs today. I need ONE HUNDRED hugs!" Now the backstory to this is that he has previously requested this many hugs and one day I actually complied with said request right down to counting out each hug. But on this particular morning I was just not in that place so I said, "One hundred hugs! That's soooo many, I'm afraid my arms will fall off!" Without missing a beat Sir Hayden explained, "Mommy, God made your arms and they will stay on. That's the way it works." Thanks to the Big G we had another hugathon....

Now that he is hip to the idea that God made the world and everything in it he is constantly reminding me what exactly that means. For instance, God made Gordon AND Gordon's tender. in fact God made the entire Island of Sodor! Hmmm, then why are the HIT Entertainment people and Britt Allcroft collecting all of the loot from the Thomas and Friends Empire that we are supporting? Don't worry, I didn't ask Hayden this - yet.

Recently Miss Bailey has taken an interest in the potty. Mostly she wants to do whatever Big Bro is doing. So this past week when Bailey was taking her turn on the porcelain god (haha) i tried to praise Hayden for teaching Bailey about being a potty pro. He said he loves to help her and then announced his intention to pray for Bailey. So, I sat criss cross apple sauce on the bathroom floor while Bailey shredded TP and Hayden made his prayer fists (He doesn't keep him fingers and palms together, he prays with a kung fu grip.). It went roughly like this...

"Dear God, Please bless Bailey. Help her pee and poop and wipe. Then help her wash her hands and get a clean diapeee. AAAAAAAAAAmen." I suppose if his eye is on the sparrow, God can send Bailey a little potty inspiration as well. haha.

A few days later after dinner Hayden decided to bless the food he had haphazardly picked at. It went like this....

"God is good, God is great. Thank you for the food we ate. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAbbbbb." Hmmm, it is an epic battle between the big man and the alphabet now.

Not to long ago, our friends the Rozzi's came over to play one morning. When it came time for goodbyes, Miss Charlotte wanted to stay and play a bit longer. It was explained to her that we were actually leaving to visit my folks and if she stayed she would be alone. After bidding Charlotte and crew a fond farewell. Hayden said, "Mommy Charlotte wanted to play at my house but she would be alone because we are going bye-byes. But Mommy, Charlotte would not be alone. God would be with her." Aye-yi-yiiiii! So, I agreed that it was indeed wonderful that God would be with Charlotte but that didn't mean it was ok for her to play in a house without grown-ups. Luckily, he didn't confront me about God's status as a grown-up! Another day I suppose....

Take Me Out to the Ballgame!

At the end of June we went on a family outing with my moms group to a local minor league baseball game. Even for a person such as myself who "doesn't do sports" it was a great time. Minor league games are the way to go, they are family friendly and you feel much closer to the action. Or at least that is the case when they are playing and not chatting at the mound or sauntering in and out of the dugout/clubhouse/benched area where they eat sunflower seeds. This was a big deal for us since it was Hayden's very first baseball game. My folks had just gotten back from picking up the Michigan Grandmonsters and were gracious enough to scoot our direction so that Blamma could keep Bailey for the evening while we went to the game. Dad got tickets for himself and Nissa's crew while Michael, Hayden and I wandered off to our group seating. It worked out so nicely to have two different places to hang out during the game. That kept Hayden going. He even got to pet Jake the Diamond Dog a handsome Golden Retriever that ran the bases between innings. We got there just in time to teach Hayden how to listen to the National Anthem. It was quite sweet to watch my boys hold their hats to their chest during the music. Hayden did a fantastic job of staying still and quiet for this. And as all of us H fans know, still and quiet are not his favorite things to be! We ate lots of horrible but delicious ballpark food, played at the park, rode the carousel and event found some time to watch some of the game.

I Scream, You Scream...

Several times this spring and summer we took family trips to the park and afterwards Michael treated us to dessert at the local ice cream monarch's. I must say it was quite a hoot to watch the differences between the MiniMarx's on these adventures. Anyone who spends even a bit of time with these two knows that Bailey is our eater and Hayden is... well let's just say his interests simply lie elsewhere. However with ice cream that trend magically reversed itself. H couldn't get enough of the stuff and Bailey thought it was all rather perplexing. I actually had to coax her to eat it! After much speculation as to whether she was switched at birth we decided to ease her into the land of frozen delights. In no time at all she was willing to stick her tongue out but that was then end of that. I actually had to hold the cone up to her mouth and rub it on her tongue in the hopes that she would run with it. How bizarre! One evening an entire table of folks on the other side of the restaurant was in stitches watching her test the waters at DQ. It was just as strange as trick or treating with Hayden last year and having him return candy to a nice lady who offered him two pieces. ("No Thanks, One is just fine.")Can't wait to see what next summer brings!

Out of the Mouths of Babes...

Before it slips my addled mind I must post this quick exchange I had with my firstborn this evening as I helped him clean up post potty break....

H (sweetly): Mommy, your so nice.

Me (smugly): Oh thanks Hayden, I try.

H (matter of factly): Well, sometimes you do and sometimes you don't.

Me (with as much zenlike acceptance as I can muster when the nearness of bedtime makes my skin itch): Well, I suppose that's true.

Never let it be said that the kid isn't brutaly honest!

Paternal Praises

Here are a few pics from Father's Day this year. Michael had a business trip to Aruba this spring and brought the kids back some lovely island garb to wear so I waited until the last possible minute and then put them on before Michael got back from his soccer games that day. We treated ourselves to ice cream cones on the patio - cookies and cream of course, Michael's favorite. Thank you Michael for working your keester off to take care of us!

My folks came out for dinner as well. Here's a fun pic of Hayden and his Pa reading together. What a pair!

Of course we had to do some posing in their tropical duds before the ice cream left its mark. Here's one of my favorites of the creatures who I am already blaming for my future gray hairs. Even now, you can see that they will be a force to reckon with as they grow older and refine their abilities to conspire with one another. If you are of the mind to, please pray for us!

Long Time No Post!

What a blogging slacker I have been for the last few months! Well, let's be honest it now amounts to an entire season. So I will just consider it a summer hiatus and do my darndest to get back on track archiving this family's daily dramas.



My true confession is that a sad event in our house was the trigger for the hiatus. In June our sweet Mandy got very sick and passed away. This was a tough one for Michael and I since Miss Mandy was in many ways our first baby - albeit a very furry one. It is also impossible to adequately explain this to Hayden. He still feels that she is lost or that the vet just needs to try again. After all, that is how it works in his world. How often do we tell him to just keep trying and things will work out? It's a challenge to convey to a preschooler that sometimes despite your best efforts that is not possible. At the same time, I love that he still has that kind of innocence and hope it lasts for some time to come.



On a lighter note, Bailey is just fine because she still has BoBo to scream at. How lovely to be that young and distractible! What a shame that it isn't so charming to be 35 and distractible... haha. And of course, poor BoBo!



Here's one of my favorite picks of our felines back in the day....

The House that Hayden Built

Hayden has a way of claiming things around the house and then hoarding them in his room. Michael and I have a pretty liberal philosophy about this -- if it helps you sleep then get on with your bad self!

Anyhow, last month all of his friends got cold so he used his recently pilfered laundry basket to build them a house. Since they were still chilly he emptied his book basket and built a rather rickety roof for his little buddies. This is what we found when we picked him up in the morning. What a crafty boy!


Another day we were greeted with a meticulous train track arrangement crafted in the wee hours of the morning. Each track was carefully selected to create our track family, one for Daddy, Hayden, Bailey and Mommy. The Baby Bailey track even got to hold a toy.


It is such an adventure to get a glimpse into his mind as he hatches these fantastic schemes. Perhaps his great love of gears is related to the wheels that are always a turning in his little noggin.

Things That Shouldn't Happen - May '08 Edition

As promised here is another helping of MiniMarx's Gone Wild. We might as well enjoy their wayward behavior while it is still amusing. It is our highest hope that their unique choices for filling time never leads to court costs down the road. haha. We celebrated our 11th anniversary this past weekend, isn't it nice to see what has come of our choice to wed? This was a funny thing to explain to Hayden. After much discussion and no understanding I finally reduced it to one statement that Sir Chats-A-Lot could grasp, "Today is Mommy & Daddy's Love Birthday". Of course, the result was a request for cake. Sometimes you just can't win!