Best of 2009

Best of 2009

I am not really much for making New Years resolutions, but I am a complete sucker for the “best of” or “top” lists for a given year. Music, books, movies, restaurants…you name it and I’m game. When my Entertainment Weekly showed up last week and I saw that it was the year end review, I promptly sat down on the curb and started flipping through and reading all the “best of 2009” lists. (Okay, that’s a minor fib. Primarily I was looking for pictures of Robert Pattinson. There, hope you’re happy now.) I couldn’t even wait to get in the house to read. Pathetic, yet I don’t care.

So on that note, I am proposing my own Best of 2009 list from this year. I’d like to say this has been a non-eventful year, but I’d be lying. And I’d like to say it’s been all packed full of joy and happiness but, again, a lie. However, I am learning at this point in life to find the silver lining, as my mom would always say, as there usually is one, but you might just have to dig a little deeper than usual to find it.

Best of 2009
5. My New Job. Not a huge change, as I just went from one company to another within our enterprise, but it was a major lifestyle change in regards to my stress level. It’s only been a few weeks, but I think Todd would agree that this probably added years to my life. I am forever in debt to the people that fought for me, and approached me with this chance and I would probably throw myself in front of a bus for you all at this point. No, really, I would.

4. Twilight. I know you are reading this and snickering, but I don’t care. And honestly, I could have put this higher on the list and only resisted because it came into my life so late in the year. This has been my total guilty pleasure of the later part of 2009 and the $40 I invested in four books…wait, and the $20 for the Blue Ray DVD…have provided me with hours (and hours) of entertainment. Prior to New Moon coming out (which I bought advanced tickets for and saw on opening night), I poured over the internet sites looking for new images, clips, whatever I could find. I scanned my TV stations and DVR’d everything that was Twilight related…and then proceeded to forward the list to Wohn so she could set it all to record as well. Wohn then forwarded it to her husband, Steve, so he could set everything on the DVR, at which time he responded with, “Done. Ridiculous. I have cancelled the IU game and Raw to accommodate this vampire movie.” This is what Twilight has done to so many of us (formerly) normal, sane women. I walked by the magazine display while shopping at Costco one day and nearly launched Sophia out of the cart when I put on the brakes after spotting Robert Pattinson on the cover of Vanity Fair. I exchanged giddy emails with friends discussing whether or not he and Kristen Stewart were dating (don’t get me started on their Harpers Bazaar photo shoot) (oh, and I fully believe they are together.). Really, I could go on. I think Wohn put it best on Christmas after she and I exchanged cell pictures of our gifts from Santa (I got a Team Edward water bottle…yes!) when she said…”We are 12.” Yes, and you know what, sometimes that’s okay. However…shame. Lots of shame.

3. Balloon Fiesta. We’ve been to the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta many times before, but never when so many planets have aligned to allow us to have the number of friends and family gather at once like we did this year. Not only did we get to see the joy on our kids’ faces at the hundreds of hot air balloons launching into the beautiful blue New Mexico sky, but we got to witness it with Todd’s parents, my mom and step-dad who drove in from North Carolina, two of my best friends, Crystal, who drove in from Dallas with her family, and Kristy, who braved a sick little Logan to join us, plus old friends from high school who I hadn’t seen in YEARS. On top of that, it was just about the time of Sophia’s 3rd birthday, so we got to throw her a party at the Bounce House in Albuquerque and have my kids, Kristy’s kids, and Crystal’s Cameran all there together to celebrate…plus two sets of grandparents! This NEVER happens for my kids. Separately we also got to spend a little time with old friends from college, though any time we spend with John and Colleen and their family is never enough. We miss you all and will always treasure that amazing week we had back home.

2. My Friends. I have had the divine pleasure of becoming better friends with so many folks this year, and it has blessed my life in a plethora of ways. I’ve become closer with friends we’ve had for years, closer with friends from Isabelle’s soccer team (who are like family now), developed our new makeshift family that we spend holidays with now in lieu of being alone…for hermits like us, this is impressive. I have had the pleasure of watching people grow in their relationships, expand their families, been at their sides through loss, and leaned on them in our hard times fully knowing they would help us stand. I love you all. Hey, and I put you above Twilight…pretty damn good!

1. Overcoming adversity. Todd and I have had challenging years during our time together, but nothing at all can rival this year. We’ve gone through hard economic times with Todd’s job, multiple serious illnesses/diagnosis in the family, surviving life with three kids with very little help, and generally trying to keep our sanity. We’ve had minor snafus along the way like dog attacks, the van getting hit by someone who ran from the scene, sick kids (Hey, H1N1, feel free to not come back again. Thanks.), Todd’s lingering soccer injury that has resulted in him walking around with a “boot” on his foot now…but really that’s all minor in the big pictures of life. Our family has faced some major adversity head-on this year, and we’re still standing. Above all, I’m not looking at 2009 as a year to frown down upon, but rather a year that our mettle was tested, and we came out gleaming like sterling silver. The Maynes will overcome!

It's Been Too Long...

There is no excuse for how much time has passed since I last updated. No excuse. Not that I have three kids. Or all the activities they've had going. Or work. Can't even try to blame all the people we've had spend time visiting over the past six months. And I could talk about trips we've taken and time that's been lost there, but I probably shouldn't. No, I should just suck it up and accept full responsibility. But that's not fun. So please see the previous mentioned items and pick the one you like best. ( I always like playing the "I have three kids" card, but feel free to do your own thing.)

Now we are suddenly in December. And I say suddenly because I honestly do not know where the time went, yet here we are knocking on the door to wrap up 2009. Wow. We've had a very interesting year in the Mayne household. I fully intend to write up a best and worst of 2009 at a later date, but for now let's just talk Christmas.

Each year Christmas gets harder. Isabelle is convinced she either needs a laptop or a cell phone (what?!? you're 7!) and Sophia just wants everything Isabelle ask for (great...sticks for everyone!). Poor Hudson doesn't have a clue and is still just as happy with the wrapping paper and boxes as he is with an actual gift. But I dutifully start my lists for the kids at least two months ahead of time so that I can assure all gift ideas have been thoroughly planned and well thought out. We'll see.

Our biggest challenge this year has been finding a Zhu Zhu pet, which was at the top of Isabelle's list (of course!). A couple of months ago i stumbled upon one lone white hamster (Zhu Zhu pets are fake hamsters, for those of you not in the know), and I was ecstatic. Sure the thought crossed my mind that this poor hamster wouldn't survive Christmas day, after my three kids tore it apart after fighting over who got to hold it next, but at least I could come through for a short time. Then last week I happened to hit the Target jackpot right as a new shipment was being unloaded. Talk about being in the right place at the right now. Now Isabelle will get to unwrap three Zhu Zhu pets (we're giving one to Sophia for everyone's sanity), a crazy pink/blue house, and a garage with a car for the hamsters. Cause you know, what self respecting fake hamster can't exist without a car. Really, now.

As with any other activity in our house, Christmas will be a zoo, but tons of fun will be had by all. (I hope!)

Our deepest blessings to everyone for a safe and happy holiday season!

~ The Maynes

Happy 4th of July (a week late)!!

A very belated Happy 4th of July to everyone! We hope the weekend brought everyone great weather, great food, great time with friends, and good thoughts for our troops that are overseas defending our country. The 4th is a wonderful day of celebration, but also a time to remember those that have fought for our country in so many ways to allow us the wonderful freedom we have! Thank you all!

Our 4th of July was absolutely fantastic! We started the day off by meeting up with friends at Lake Wilderness Park in Maple Valley. What a wonderful and gorgeous complex! We kicked the soccer ball around some, had a picnic lunch, and then headed over to the lake. The kids all had a BLAST and the lake was just magnificent. Oh, and the weather? About 83 degrees under clear blue skies - perfect!!

Todd, Hudson and Sophia head out into the lake for a dip.

Very safe to say that Hudson might have had the best time out of everyone playing in the sand and wading out in the lake with Dad.

Isabelle and Gracie take a break from swimming to play on the beach with Sophia and Hudson.

After our time at the lake, we headed home to get showers for everyone and then a quick nap for Sophia and Hudson. After a yummy dinner of Juicy Lucy burgers, we headed over to enjoy fireworks with Tia and Sep and their family. The kids all had a great time with the fireworks...running through the colored smoke bombs, oohhing and aahhing at the mortars, and drawing their names in the air with sparklers.

Isabelle enjoying her sparkler.

Sophia...obviously having a great time playing with fire. :)

We look back on this 4th of July with pure happiness, and hope everyone else had as great of a day as we did. Until next year...everyone stay safe and continue to pray for our troops.

Lion tamers

Isabelle's soccer season came to an end this past weekend, which was good and bad. Good because now we get three days of our week back (until coach pitch baseball starts next week) but bad because our girls had such an awesome season and all have so much fun together.

Our last game of the season was played against the Lion Queens. We played this team twice last year and probably lost by about 15 goals each game. It was a mess. We knew how good our team was now, and how much we had improved, and we were all prepared to take on the team that had pounded us last season. And not only had they pounded us, but the coach of the other team is a complete ass...always encouraging his team to "keep taking it to them, score on them again." Suck it, asshole.

To make a long story short...WE WON!!! Our girls took it to the Lion Queens and beat them 5-2. It was a hard fought battle, and all the girls were exhausted at the end. Isabelle got things off hot with a goal (her 10th of the season, which led the team) and they just never gave up from there. We were all so proud, and the girls were ecstatic. Go Monsters!!!

Here's Isabelle taking on all three Lion Queen girls..."Watch out you big blonde girl, cause I'm about to score on you!" (which she did!!)

After the game we had the end of season party at our house. It was potluck style and everyone brought some delicious food. Our team is very ethnically diverse, which showed through in the foods that were brought.

Parents and kids sitting around eating and enjoying the beautiful evening.

The girls enjoyed eating their dinner picnic-style.

Our Monsters (and our little Monster mascot!)

Bend it like Isabelle

The weather was beautiful in Seattle this weekend, which was a real treat because we haven't had too many nice days as of late. Friday night Isabelle's soccer team had a great practice in 70 degree weather, and I actually got to take one of the dogs to practice so he could hang out with us. Saturday we had a wonderful day of playing outside with the kids, and a great dinner on the deck that evening.

Sunday, of course, was Isabelle's soccer game. Her team is doing outstanding this year, and Isabelle has been a true all-star, if I do say so myself. Her skills are tremendous and her coach (and Dad) is very happy. Not too bad for a girl that we thought wouldn't be playing soccer about a year ago. At any rate, we played under gorgeous weather this afternoon and the girls had an awesome game. We ended up winning 13-2, and Isabelle scored THREE goals! To top it all off, one of them was a left-foot shot, which had been one of her goals to accomplish this year. We were so proud of our girl! To this point in the season (6 games) she's had 8 goals. We still have two more to go, so hopefully the hot streak continues.

Here she is gearing up for a big left foot shot. She's the only girl on the team that can switch from one foot to the other with complete confidence.

Here she is throwing up the "L" sign. No, it's not for loser, but her sign for "left-foot goal."

Here's the third goal headed for the net.

Again with the "L" sign for the left-foot goal. She was so proud!

Running through the victory tunnel at the end.

GO MONSTERS! No game next weekend due to Memorial Day, but we play the two weekends after that to finish off the season.

Hope everyone else had as wonderful of a weekend as we did!

Mother's Day weekend

This weekend we were blessed with gorgeous weather, which hasn't been a regular event these days. And no better weekend for it, as we were able to get out and celebrate Mother's Day with great family activities. Saturday we started out with Sophia's soccer class, and then headed out to the zoo to explore the new penguin exhibit. The kids had a blast, and all caught a quick nap on the drive home. That evening we had our dear friends the Cappalongas over for dinner. Tia is one of the best mothers I know, and a great person to celebrate the weekend with. She has five wonderful kids that are all amazing in their own individual ways. She is really one in a million...oh, and just an awesome person to be around. :) At any rate, the kids all wore each other out playing until late that night, but did sleep in the next morning, so we couldn't complain.

The next day Todd cooked omelets for everyone and then got all our bicycles prepped for a family bike ride while the little ones were napping. After they awoke, we headed off for a ride along the Cedar River. The weather was still good, though a little overcast, but not too hot or cold so we couldn't complain.

Todd and Isabelle off and going. The hilly path that Isabelle is riding towards is the one she crashed down at the end of our ride. No better way to finish off Mother's Day than scrubbing gravel and dirt out of your kid's knees in the tub with a loafa. Good times.

Isabelle cranked along with us the entire ride, which probably consisted of about 3 miles. She's awesome on her bike, and really enjoyed us all being out together.

A nice view of the Cedar River.


Sophia and Hudson ride along in their bike trailer behind Todd. They love looking out the windows and generally grappling with each other in the tight quarters.

Little faces peeking out at me as I ride by them. Too cute!

I hope all the mothers I know had a wonderful weekend like I did. I feel truly blessed to have three wonderful children that are happy and healthy, and that give me the title of "Mom."

Hump day is *the* day

Whereas most of us look forward to Friday, and the end of a busy work week, my little ones look forward to one day...garbage day. Our garbage day is Wednesday, and it's the best day of the week in our house. Sophia loves the garbage man to the point she yells at the top of her lungs when she sees one while we're out and about "Garbage man!!!" Hudson has two Tonka Wheel Pals garbage trucks (one small and one large) and they happen to be the same green as our garbage trucks. Needless to say, the two of them ALWAYS play with the garbage trucks. We weren't so sure about this new obsession, but upon talking to other friends, it seems the love of the garbage man extends to all small children. Good to know, as we were starting to think Sophia already had a career in mind...

Perched on the sofa...anxiously watching the street for the first sighting of the garbage man.

Since we sit up on a bit of a hill, from our front window the kids can watch the garbage man collect from about six houses. Bonus!

They are so focused the entire time this is going on...neither moves at all, except to wiggle their butts back and forth with glee.

Bye, bye garbage man! See ya next week!

Today's activities:

Work
More laundry
Get to UPS to send some returns back (not holding my breath on this one)
Isabelle's soccer practice

Tonight's menu:
I'm stumped!! Not good.

Two Little Monkeys

On a daily basis, it's the little things that make me appreciate being a parent and truly make me love my kids to death. Yes, they run me ragged, and both Todd and I probably look like walking zombies most of the time, but there are moments during the day that just make my heart melt and make me realize why the dark circles under my eyes are totally worth it.

Sophia's new favorite game is to go into her brother's room while he's still sleeping, scale over the side of the crib, and wake the poor child up by jumping all around him. This occurs in the morning, after nap...it really doesn't matter. If she can sneak past me and get in there with him, she's all over it. Fortunately Hudson finds the whole thing just as fun and exciting as she does, so...well, I'll let the pictures tell the story.

Poor Hudson is still trying to wake up here...and Sophia is in full effect.

Sophia gets her full bounce on...travels the length of the crib in one bounce.

I couldn't capture it in a picture, but when Huddy gets real excited he starts head banging.

Yes, they've crashed into each other and bounced off the rails of the bed. And no, neither cares in the least when this happens. They simply both laugh, hop up, and start bouncing again. Siblings...gotta love them!

Today's activities:
Laundry...did three loads, it wasn't nearly enough
Sorted through baby toys that we're keeping and getting rid of...sniff!
Work
Isabelle's soccer practice

Tonight's menu:
Calzones (I used this recipe as my jumping off point...my final product depends on my mood and what I have available to put inside. And I use pizza dough, not white bread dough.)
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Unbelievable-Spinach-Calzones/Detail.aspx

Sophia's swim class

Tuesday night Sophia had her first swimming class ALL BY HERSELF! She's been in the parent-tot class for about a year, and her instructor finally said it was time to move her up, even though the PS1 class technically is not for kids under the age of 3. That being said, Sophia will go under water by herself, knows basic strokes, and had completely outgrown the toddler class. The biggest question with Sophia was whether or not she would get in the water without Todd or I, and if she would go to her teacher or scream the entire time. Check out the pictures and see for yourself...

The PS (preschool) classes stand on tables under the water, which Sophia just loves. She spent the entire class, when she wasn't with the teacher, jumping up and down on the table.

Swimming out to her teacher, Karmina. As you can see, the other kids in the class are significantly bigger than Sophia. The class is for 3-5 year olds.

Here she was doing "reach and pull" with Karmina. She had such a great time!

Such a cute little thing sitting on the side of the pool waiting for her turn to jump in the water.

Her final jump in the water. We were SO proud of our little girl. She did an awesome job!! We have our second class tonight, so we'll see how it goes.

Happy Birthday Master Hudson!

My little boy (sniff) turned a year old on Monday (sniff sniff). It seems like just yesterday he was born, but then that's the case for me with all my kids, even Isabelle and she's turning 7 (gasp!) next month. We celebrated with a party on Saturday with friends and then gifts and more cake on Monday.

Hudson's cake was from Hoffman's Bakery and was delicious. Absolutely adorable with a dumptruck on the front and all vanilla and buttercream. Yummy!

Gifts gifts and more gifts. In the true nature of a little kid, the Huggies diaper box that Isabelle decorated for him with Star Wars stickers was his favorite thing. Shortly after this picture was taken we took it away from him in order to open presents and he promptly had a meltdown.

When you have two older sisters, you have lots of help opening presents. Fortunately Huddy could have cared less, as he prefers to do as little as possible most of the time. Yes, typical man in the making here.

Where we used to only have dolls, Barbies and all things pink...we now get our share of cars, trucks, and camo mixed in. It's awesome!

This was taken just after we all finished cake. Probably the most telling picture ever taken of the kids.

Thanks to everyone for sharing in Hudson's birthday with us...for the gifts, the well-wishes, coming to his party...you all made it a wonderful celebration!

Today's activities:
Work
Isabelle's soccer practice
Planning Isabelle's summer camps
Sorting through the kids' closets...ugh, such a chore

Tonight's menu:
Angel Chicken Pasta http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Angel-Chicken-Pasta/Detail.aspx

Easter with the Maynes

Easter in Seattle is a rainy affair. Always is…probably always will be. I’ve given up on buying my girls frilly dresses, as they will just freeze and end up complaining the entire time they’re wearing them. No, we’re still pretty much in winter dresses…with leggings…and boots. Here the girls pose with the Easter Bunny while at brunch.

Isabelle and Sophia started coloring Easter eggs on Saturday. We only tipped over two bowls (pretty good for us) and only cracked three eggs in the coloring process. Again, very good for our family.

Hudson even got in on the coloring action, though his preference was towards trying to eat the egg, shell and all. He made it through the coloring of one egg, and then was back to playing cars on the floor.

That night the kids put their Easter baskets outside in anticipation of the Easter bunny coming. Only in our house do we wear our Christmas pjs on Easter evening. Classy.

And the next morning the kids delighted in going outside and finding their full baskets. Once again, it was raining, so the poor baskets had to sit clinging to the side of the house until the kids were ready to go out and get them.

For brunch we all took a trip to the top of the Space Needle to enjoy the most spectacular view of Seattle. Though the weather was cloudy and rainy, of course, it was still a view of the city I'd never seen. Isabelle especially loved it and sat glued to the window the entire time.

After brunch we colored more eggs. This time we didn't spill any colored water, and only broke one egg. Crazy improvement!

The day was wrapped up by an Easter egg hunt INSIDE. Booo! The girls got to hunt on two floors, though, and fun was still had by all.

Today's activities:
Wow...where to even begin. We're all exhausted and Todd is looking forward to going back to work in order to rest.

Today's menu:
Cioppinno http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Cioppino/Detail.aspx
Rosemary Garlic Bread from Three Girls Bakery
Salad

Summer in April

Is it too early to be excited about the 4th of July? In my mind, never. This year, though, most definitely not. We made reservations today for an incredibly charming beach house for the 4th of July holiday. We will be joined by our dear friends, which means the adults can sit back while all 8 (yes, 8) kids run around and wear each other out. It will be brilliant! Fireworks on the beach on the 4th, BBQS on the deck, playing by the water...we've never planned anything like this for the 4th, but are thrilled to be doing it this year with such wonderful folks. Is it July yet?

Pretty interior pictures can be found here:

http://www.beachcombersnw.com/00429

Today's activities:

Installing a Microhood after our Microwave died

Preparing for Hudson's birthday

Keep the children alive (some days it's the little things that matter most)

Tonight's menu:

Pizza

Salad

...it was a long day today

What's for dinner?

The challenge of the day in our house (amongst others) is dinner. With three kids to wrangle, after school activities galore, two jobs, and no magical housewife/maid/nanny/chef (I don't know where that bitch went, but she best find her way back), by the time dinner rolls around everyone is circling the table and kitchen like a pack of savage wolves. And trust me, the wolves are not easily pacified. I just want everyone to make it to the table before a meltdown occurs? The odds on this are not good.

With the challenge of dinner obviously arising at about the same time every day, I must also say that nothing delights me more than finding a new recipe and it blowing everyone's socks off with a meal. I could dig through AllRecipes.com for hours on end hunting for something spectacular. This site is my guilty pleasure. I make it a point to make at least one new dish a week, and we always balance our weekly meals with chicken, beef, fish and turkey or pork. (Turkey and pork are low on the list for all of us, so once a week of one is more than enough in my book). I also plan our entire month's menu out at the first of each month. A little OCD? Possibly. However, my family delights in being able to come into the kitchen, check out the big calendar on the fridge and see what's for me. What do I like about it? Never having to be asked "what's for dinner?" It always makes grocery shopping a little easier, which is also a blessing when you're hauling three kids through a grocery store by yourself.

For anyone who reads this blog, I would LOVE to hear what your family is having for dinner, and how you all battle the challenges of the family while still putting a well balanced and reasonably priced meal on the table every night. Recipes will be loved and coveted in my "Recipes" binder.


Today's activities:
Yard work
Science Fair Project
Laundry (10 loads...and still not done!)
Finishing up Sophia's potty training (once and for all)

Tonight's menu:
Baked Salmon (http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Baked-Salmon-II/Detail.aspx)
Rice Pilaf
Steamed Broccoli