Life sure can be messy at times!

My Big Preschooler!

Ahhh....my "baby girl" is growing up! It was a little bittersweet yesterday when I took Maya to her first day of preschool. This marks the beginning of so many changes for both Maya and me! I don't think I'll ever get over how quickly these years seem to fly by. I had this flood of deja vu while walking down the same familiar hallways of the preschool once again. My mind was immediately brought back to 4 years ago when I was taking McKenna to her first day of preschool.

Back then I had a 5 week old baby Maya & I couldn't believe I was dropping off my firstborn for her first day of preschool. Yet, here I am again! Once again, I have a baby on my hip (or a stroller) as I march my little trooper down the long hallways to her classroom. Once again, I worry about how my little girl will behave. Will she play nice? Will she listen to her teacher? Will she eat the little lunch I packed? Will she cry? Will she have fun? Will she even miss me with all the fun stuff there is to do? Even though I'm a bit more "seasoned" this time around it's funny how I still worry about my kids when they embark on all of their "firsts". I guess some things just never change!

However....one thing that WAS quite different was Maya's reaction to her first day of preschool! Unlike her older sister, she showed NO sign of trepidation as she boldly marched into her new classroom & greeted her first day of school with all the surety of a first grader! I would expect nothing less from my confident little social butterfly! If you know Maya at all you are laughing right along with me! It's just so..."Maya" to show no sign of fear when it comes to this sort of thing! I love that about my little girl!!

First Day of School.

My sweet, sweet "babies" headed back to school this week (sniff...sniff). Where did our summer go? All I know is that it was way too cool & WAY too short! I already miss having them around during the day.

Here is my big 1st and 2nd graders!

*Man...he is gonna break some hearts in the future!

Chandler has a few school supplies on his desk!

Is it just me, or do you want a pair of sandals like McKenna's too?

Such a sweet little girl!

I have some handsome boys in my life!

Nothing like having monsoon rain on your first day back to school!

Not Me! Monday.

This week I'm going to air out my "dirty laundry" in honor of "Not Me! Monday". No....really.....I'm going to show you what just 4 days of dirty laundry looks like at my house. Are you ready.......




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I won't show you the rest of the house, because I think that's good enough for today. Oh, and I assure you...I did not let Maya dance in the dirty laundry and play "Queen of the Mountain" on it either...nope, not me!

Maya is 4!

My sweet baby girl turned four last Tuesday! We had a little family party this time & she was as happy as a clam to have everyone make a big deal over her. :-)

A few Maya facts:

-She LOVES nut butter and jelly sanwiches. That is about the only thing she eats these days.

-Apple juice is her nectar of choice...when I allow it.

-She has not put one single vegetable to her lips in over two years!

-Her favorite thing to do is go to the pool...and the "Y".

-She loves her cousins, especially "Z-Z" (Zion).

-Maya was born at 5:13 am, on August 11th 2005....and that was probably the last time she was awake that early in the morning. She is NOT a morning person!

-She is starting Preschool this year & is very excited about that.

-She is my "Drama Mama" -life is never dull or quiet when Miss Maya is in the house!

-Her favorite "toy" is a mirror. She LOVES to look at herself in the mirror!!!

-She will still take a nap if I lay her down. This child loves her sleep!

-She can eat her body weight in chips without getting sick (or gaining one ounce).

-Her grandpa believes she is going to channel all of her determination and "spirit" into becoming some sort of motivational speaker/evangelist. (We have to believe God made her this stubborn for good reason!)

-Maya was my easiest pregnancy, easiest labor, & easiest baby...I like to remember those facts often ;-)

Here are a few pictures of miss Maya from the past 4 years:

I'd need A Savior

Not Me, Monday!

I'm back! I've been a little behind on posting new stuff because....well....I've been busy with 4 small children & a summer that has been crazy, busy, and lots of fun! However, I had some pretty funny "Not Me's" to share this week, so here we go!

I would like to go on public record here to let everyone know that in the past week I have not bathed my children exactly ONE time. They do not have hay-like, chlorine soaked hair, and smell like fake coconuts from old sunscreen that has not been washed off since we went to the pool on SATURDAY!

I have not been feeding them nut butter sandwiches and "chips and cheese" (you might call them nachos at your house) EVERY DAY because that is all we have left in the house and I'm just too lazy to go grocery shopping.

I have not been line drying used "swimmer" pull-ups for re-use. Um, make that the SAME used swimmy pull-up for OVER a week. I have not determined it's re-usefulness by giving it the "sniff" test (if it doesn't smell like urine than it passes the test!).

I did not reward myself for getting back to the gym last week by eating pizza, Mexican, Quizno's, and copious amounts of peanut M&M's and twizzlers, and birthday cake this weekend. That kind of diet is probably counter-productive to my 1/2 marathon goal right now.

I did not pretend to ignore the fact that I saw my 3 (almost 4!) year old eat smashed skittles off the pavement at the pool the other day. Those smooshed candies did not belong to us or anyone I know!

I did not forget to bring a bra and t-shirt to the pool the last time we were there and end up having to wear my wet swimsuit top to run errands in.

I did not let my whining 3 year old bring me to the brink of insanity last week. I most certainly did not find myself screaming empty threats at her like "You are gonna eat these pancakes and LIKE them or SO. HELP. ME.......".

I did not threaten my children with bodily harm if they made a scene at the school when I went to enroll them last week. You may remember what happened the first time I went through this enrolling process.......because I sure remember!

I did not just let my 10 month old tear apart the bag that contains all my breast pump parts just so that he would be entertained while I wrote this post. I am not also slightly amused that he keeps sucking on the squishy valves to said pump like they are going to eventually supply him with some sort of nutrients & then getting angry when he gets nothing out of them.

I did not just waste way too long on this "Not Me" post and run out of time to go the gym this morning....guess it will be a night trip to the gym today.

Sleeping Beauty

Everybody's Changing.

Just the other day Chandler was running through the living room and knocked over a wedding picture I had on top of the armoire and the glass in the frame broke, and when I went to pick up the picture I paused for a moment to really take a good look at it. What happened next kinda surprised me. I cried...really hard. I cried because when I looked at the picture I realized EVERYTHING has changed since that time in my life, and that was only 9 years ago. How could I not really know or talk to a single person who stood up with me in my wedding (besides my own family)? How could those friendships I cherished so much be gone, just like that? Nothing happened to make the friendships change, except, well....life. How does that happen?

I've been struggling lately with these feelings, and I know it's because I didn't expect to arrive at 30 and be starting all over again in the friendship department. The truth is, I miss the familiarity of old friendships, when people just knew me. When I didn't have to explain myself, my past, my likes and dislikes, and why I am the way I am. When I could just be me & that was OK. The comfortable familiarity of an old friend is something to be cherished for sure!

Now I'm starting over & while I except that it is what it is, I still miss having an old friend or two in my life. This could also just be a season for me to walk through & not a permanent change. People change, they come and go sometimes, kids grow up, schedules change, as do circumstances. That's about the only thing I can count on...life will always change. To be honest, I feel very lucky to have a few new(er) friends that are quickly beginning to feel like "old friends" to me. It's kinda funny how new friendships can sometimes have that feel to them.

You see, I really do love many things about my life, no doubt about that! I have a beautiful family, one that truly makes me feel blessed beyond measure, & I have wonderful new adventures and friendship on the horizon that make me feel excited to be opening this new chapter in my life. However, I think when you come to this place I'm at it's always a little painful to turn this new page. At times I find myself still longing for the way things used to be. The truth is...I'm not the person I was 10 years ago, so why should I expect my life to be the same? As much as I want to go back & re-claim parts of my past so that I can always have those people or fun memories in my life forever...I can't. My past was full of wonderful people and memories & and my future will be as well! Praise God for that.

Things come and go. Friends come and go. Circumstances come and go. Life has this ever changing fluid ebb and flow to it, & nothing we do or say can ever change that. The only things that remain my constants are my family and my God...and the fact that things will never stay the same!

And just because I like Keane..... :-)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AC08xwrQ5gU