For all those who come to this happy place, Welcome!

This was Paige's letter to Santa this year. She had a tall order, and keep in mind this is one of several versions (some as early as September). I think next year we might limit her to the top 3 of her endless lists. James, on the other hand, just wants a dinosaur, easy peasy - this is one boy who won't be disappointed on Christmas morning.

A friend of mine sent this to me, you've probably read it by now, but if not... I thought the moms out there would like to know they are not alone or at least have a good laugh - Maren  p.s. I have video to upload but my parents internet is about as fast as the pony express. Dear Santa , I've been a good mom all year. I've fed, cleaned and cuddled my children on  demand, visited their doctor's office more than my doctor, sold sixty-two cases  of candy bars to raise money to plant a shade tree on the  school playground  I  was hoping you could spread my list out over several Christmases, since I had to  write this letter with my son's red crayon, on the back of a receipt in the  laundry room  between cycles, and who knows when I'll find anymore free time in  the next 18 years. Here are my  Christmas wishes : I'd like a pair of legs that don't ache (in any color, except purple, which I  already have) and arms that don't hur...

It's official - we heard the heartbeat on Wednesday - this is the cause of my nauseated state of being 24/7. There is actually a little peanut causing all this havoc on my body. Everything seems to be going really well. My progesterone levels were low so they put me on a supplement and I'm trying to live with the side effects while Jason claims there are no big changes (I always break out crying, right? - ha, ha, ha) Actually, it does have a slew of side effects, but I seem to be affected by 3: sleepiness, irritability, and anxiety. Serious anxiety over the littlest dumbest things (makes me crazy) and it sucks that my one good quality (patience) is in short supply. Yesterday during preschool my kids were looking at me like 'why does she think she has to bribe us for every little thing?' - please, please, please put your shoes on, I will give you an m&m - come on just help pick up, I will give you and m&m - poor things. Luckily it will just be 'til I reac...

He's such a little rogue. I LOVE this picture - she wanted to wear her tap shoes and I love how her toes are pointed. I never get over how long this baby's hair is. This is my favorite one of James, it's genuine and sweet, but you can still see the mischief in his eyes. This girl just gets prettier every year. She is everything I always wanted to be, but never was. This is my favorite of Abbey. She looks a little pouty, I don't know why she always gets what she wants. He is either bare foot or a flipflop boy, he takes after me - our feet can't breathe in shoes. She didn't want her hair flat ironed but obliged me this once. I love it when she poses. This baby is just pure joy. She has been a blessing to this family, as cheesy as that sounds - she brings out the best in us and we do everything we can to make her smile. The lighting & coloring is not typical in this picture. It reminds me of a picture from my moms yearbook in the 70...

I had to share this clip. Abbey & I had a similar moment yesterday after leaving Fresh & Easy. Abbey had my keys in her hand and I returned my shopping cart congratulating myself on what a responsible citizen I was, only to star cursing a moment later as I realized I had closed the drivers side door. Luckily before I hit "crazy parent running with a garbage can" mode I heard a click (Abbey was still playing with the keys) and the nightmare ended before anyone "could start judging me" (great line) - This show is pretty funny. It reminds me of my own crazy family.

The PTO at my kids elementary school sponsors a pumpkin contest every year. The kids were excited to be a part of it this year. Jason helped James come up with a bloody skull. I made the skirt/dress for Paige's Pumpkin Leia. I also helped with the hair (my fingers have all the burns from hot glue to prove it). It turned out great and she won 2nd place for K-3rd grade in the "Cartoon Look Alike" category. I'm so proud of my little blooming crafter in the making.

In my last post - I know I went on and on about my friend Jenna who took pictures for my class. Well, I had her come back and take school pictures of my kids. These are a few she sent me early so I could do a project for church. Okay, so... technically Abbey is more of a mascot then a student in preschool, but Jenna obliged me... Look what she was able to capture. I know what your thinking, "yeah. Maren we know she was a hospital mix up, this is further evidence that your real child is being raised in a trailer court in Apache Junction." My life long bff's have been my sisters, I love that these two adore each other despite their age difference they are amazed and delighted by each other. If you need an amazing photographer , I got you covered, just give me a call and I'll hook you up. * I'll be posting more in the next few weeks. If you want me to email these to you let me know, this is a downgraded format so it uploaded quickly, printing quality might n...

I jut had to share this picture. This year for my preschool we decided to do school pictures and Jameson Photos came to my house to do the photo shoot. The pictures turned out amazing. This group picture was taken in my back yard, really. She is fantastic. You can click HERE to see more preschool pictures or JAMESON PHOTOS to go to her site and check her out. She i stopping by later to take James & Paige's school pictures. I might just have to do this every year!

I can't believe my baby is already one years old. It's amazing how when you get older time speeds up and you barely feel like your catching your breath and your baby isn't so tiny anymore. I've enjoyed Abbey's babyhood. She is a funny little parrot. I feel out of all my kids she has my sense of humor (or maybe she is just too little to think I'm a dork, yet) My kids are so proud of her. Just this last weekend she started crawling like a "real baby" (on all fours) - but she is much faster at her "cockroach crawl" and resorts to that more often. She also spins 360' on her hiney. It's funny to watch, and she thinks the world of Paige & James. SHe lights up whenever Paige comes around and Paige is the first to try and make her happy. She thinks James is hilarious with his loud ways and is constantly laughing at him which just eggs him on even more. She is super independent. She gave up baby food at 2 teeth and 9 months. S...

"Mom, I already know what you are going to say tonight when you tuck me in." "Oh Yeah, Paige, and what is that?" "That I need to clean my room tomorrow. I already know, so you don't have to say anything." "Okay." (That's my girl!)

I am hosting a giveaway on my other blog, The Secret Stitch Club. It is a double sided apron made by me. Follow this link to enter (Sorry entries on this site won't count)

It's been awhile since I've sent out an "Abbey post" - and since you all would rather look at her then the rest of us I thought I would oblige. This is Abbey and the baby who usurped her throne as "Youngest grandchild in the Byrnes family" (baby Crue is Megan & Dyson's first and is almost a month old, in this pisture it was just a couple days) She gets a kick out of looking at herself in the mirror. This night she kept laughing and prattling on to the baby in the mirror. When her hair looks like this I always think of Gene Wilder's Willie Wonka. Her hair is crazy long for a year old and hard to find her sometimes in the morning when she wakes up and it is ALL in her face. This is Abbey after having been "babysat" by Paige & James. I just asked them to keep an eye on her while they were playing on the computer. In actuality they kept both their eyes on the computer and let her play with a ball point pen. This one is a rarity (Abbey m...

This delayed entry comes with a price, literally. I'm cautioning all the 3 people who read this blog to BEWARE of PRIDE... or in our case, a prideful checking account.  Don't let your "ca" (checking account) start bragging around the bank to all the other checking accounts about how you might actually be catching up on all your bills.  Don't let "ca" taunt others that you've started saving for a family trip to Disneyland in the fall.  Don't even hint to "ca" that your husband's on-call and countless weekend hours, where you get to play single mom at church or at family activities, might actually start helping you pay back your student loans.  And most importantly (aka - the kiss of death) Please don't let "ca" overhear you talking about the possibility of using your tax returns to buy a humble little tent/trailer, or he will blog about it and before you know it... bursting with pride, your haughty bank account will ...

Yeah!! I just joined the Secret Stitch Etsy site . I made 3 bath aprons, if your wondering what that is - basically an apparatus to keep you dry while your kids get clean & then use it to dry them off once they finish. You can see them if you look to the right ( red , blue , and cream towelish looking aprons) aren't they pretty? Okay so to celebrate I'm giving away this kids apron that I made o n the SSC site and Christie is giving away a lime colored apron she made adult sized. You can't enter the giveaway here - You have to go to the SSC page and leave a comment. I hope you win!!

I remember the first time Paige told me I was her best friend. She was about 2 years old and it melted my heart. I thought to myself, I am so lucky to be her first bff. I know it won't last and she will move on, but for this moment I will love every minute of it. So, I thought I would take a moment to recognize my first bff, my dad. He will always be my hero no matter how old I get. His spirit has never aged (it still thinks it's 20-ish) while his body is looking more 60-ish. I am proud of the man he is and hope that my son will turn out just as great (this picture was taken on my 1st birthday, my dad was 34).

This was my last pday in the mission field. Jason had already been home for 4 months. He was back touring with his family. My father-in-law asked me to come home and date his son while we were at the Colleseo. Good times... if they only knew what the next 10 years would bring them, ha, ha, ha) This was Jason and I in the mission field (I apologize for the irreverence of the picture - what do you do when your twenty something in a foreign country and living like nuns - you get your kicks where you can) This was the twenty year old I fell for ... what a smokin hot guy, even if he was a missionary. This is Jason in our first apartment getting ready to move to AZ. My crazy, wonderful, amazing trophy husband. I love him more and more as time goes by and I'm constantly reminding myself just how good I have it with him. Happy Father's Day to a guy who makes me laugh daily (and never reads this blog - so he never knows how "crazy" I am for him) Sei Grande!