Budding Personalities

My children continue to grow and develop into two unique individuals. This is both fascinating and frustrating at the same time. For example, Connor is going through a very strong independent streak at present. I believe that we can attribute this to his age, but also his personality as well. Some examples of this independence include the need to buckle in his stuffed monkey into the extra booster seat in the van every time we go somewhere - BY HIMSELF. This of course is after all of the other tasks of getting ready to go somewhere have been completed. I have to plan ahead by about 30 minutes to get anywhere on time just to be sure that I allow time for him to complete everything on his own!

Braden is always thinking about something and then will say something that appears random but in fact has a logical explanation if you explore the thought process behind it all. Sometimes you just don't have the opportunity to explore this process until you are faced with a precarious situation. Today as we were leaving a store, at the very moment that we were walking past the person acting as store security, he starts yelling "thief, thief." I do not really know if he knows and understands what that means, but I am sure it looked really good as I leave the store with my GIANT purse that I use to carry all of my mommy related "stuff." I am not sure what my face looked like as I tried not to react and look suspicious. Hopefully I will not be on the late news tonight!! So if you happen to see surveillance video with a lady with a large purse and two kids I promise there was nothing stolen in my purse!

I am sure that these attributes will serve them well as they develop into adults, but sometimes they present interesting challenges for their mother!

Mistaken Identity

This is what I have been doing with my "free time" the last 2 days. I am glad that I have finished reading it because I didn't want to put it down. Not very good when two little boys are also wanting some attention! I am interested in the story because I of my own Taylor connection, but it is a story that can't help but attraction the attention of many. These families have an incredible story and faith. I will never forget the moment that I first heard about this terrible mix up. I was watching the local news and it was the first news story of the evening. I just looked at the TV and it took a few moments for it to all sink in. I remember saying out loud "You have got to be kidding me." Brad wasn't home so it was more or less a comment to myself. And then I began to replay all that had happened and tried to imagine what these families could possibly be feeling. It was too much to process at once. This was my reaction as a person who does not even know any of these individuals - the magnification of what they felt I know pales in comparison. The families have been on the Today show this week and the story will be on Dateline tonight.

And as a follow up to my last post, Brad says that this weekend he will NOT BE WORKING!!!! YEAH!!! He truly deserves some rest.

A New Post for My New Look!

Well, I am sure that you all have noticed that I have been playing around with my blog the last few days. So far I am liking this new layout so I will try to stick with it for awhile! It is spring and I am ready to change things up and make things fresh and new, my blog included! I have had every intention of renewing myself in many areas but so far I have not been so successful. I know that my house will get "spring cleaned" in time, but I have not made that a priority. It would be nice for it to actually feel like spring before I start, but then I will want to take the kids outside and it really won't get done! Life has been a bit hectic for us. Brad has worked for three weekends in a row and quite frankly I haven't asked what is happening this weekend because I just can't face that yet!! Fortunately the client he is working for is local so he is not traveling each day, but he barely makes it home in time to drop into bed and then is off in the morning for another long day. I am not sure how he is surviving it, but I am ready for it to end. Okay, enough discussion about that! The hardest part is bedtime. This is a daily struggle for us and I am getting weary from addressing this battle on my own! I am sure we would all be taking the day to day issues in stride if we could feel a bit more rested - especially mommy!

Weekend Fun

What a great weekend we had with our family! The kids had so much fun playing with their cousins. When we told them we were getting ready to go home Braden just started crying because he was not ready for the fun to end! The kids colored eggs on Saturday and then we had an easter egg hunt on Sunday after our family dinner. Here you can see some pictures of the kids with their baskets after the hunt and coloring the eggs. I had to include one picture of the boys all dressed up and ready for church!

Another fun part of the weekend was going sledding Saturday afternoon noon with grandpa! It is not every year that you can sled and have an easter egg hunt the same weekend - nor do you usually want to!!

Happy Birthday, Mom!!

Today is my mom's birthday. The boys wanted to make a video for her but I should have done an outtakes version because they were all over the place!! At the end Braden says something about "composting" - he was playing a game on PBS kids right before we taped that was teaching about that, so it really is not as random as it appears. We hope you have a great day - and by the way, we have your birthday snow just in case it didn't make it to where you live!

Fun in the Sun

We just got home from a week in Florida. It was a great time! The kids loved the pool and playing along the beach. We even took an air boat ride in the everglades and saw some alligators. It was a fun trip and we got to be there with some of our extended family. It definately gave us a break from the winter weather - I hear freezing rain against our windows even as I type!

Hard Head

I think that I have proof that my son has a hard head. Not the kind of hard-headedness that you would expect from a 2, almost 3 year old, but he has taken two hard hits in the past week and appears to be okay.

We just got back from a fun vacation in Florida with some extended family. We stayed in a house with a pool. There were lots of windows and sliding doors that looked out into the pool area. Well, one of the first days he looked out to see me and his older brother swimming in the pool. He took a running start to join us and ran straight into a glass window. He hit so hard that he bounced back onto the floor. I watched the whole thing from the pool. He started screaming "MOMMY," but soon all that was left of the incident was a small bump on the middle of his forehead.

Last night we had our small group from church at our house. Just as everyone was getting ready to go home, Connor and another little boy ran full force right into one another. Connor ended up with a huge goose egg and the other little boy had to get 7 stitches. You can see a picture of that little boy here: http://ulmfamilyhappenings.blogspot.com/2008/03/head-on-collision.html.

Look out, my son has a hard head!!!