Amayah the "Singleton"

When Amayah was in the NICU she was dubbed a "singleton" because she wasn't a multiple. Truth was, she was never a singleton. She had a big brother patiently waiting at home for her.

Before she was born I had NO CLUE how I was going to handle two, and today...I was lost with just one,lol! The in-laws came to get Aaron(Maya always has to stay...she has seperation issues!) so Maya and Mommy had a girls day. The weird thing is, it was quiet. Too quiet.

Sure she giggles and babbles on, but I actually missed Aaron running around and terrorizing my house. Today on the news I learned that a toddler's whining was voted the "most annoying sound". The toddlers beat out chain saws, howling dogs, and much more!

Don't get me wrong, Aaron's tantrums are in no way my favorite thing, but they are a part of him. He's two. His brain is growing faster than he can keep up with and that's frustrating. Hell, I'd scream too ;-)

We often get so caught up in the things that drive us crazy about life that we forget to be grateful for what we have. I'm grateful for every scream that either kid lets out...they have strong lungs. Falling out to throw a tantrum? They have control over their limbs. Covered from head to toe in black beans? Their bellies are full.

I love being their Mommy. I sure hope they love being my kids ;-)

Bowling fun with the March of Dimes

The Haynes' are big supporters of the March of Dimes, and yesterday we attended our first March for Babies awards dinner.

Amayah was born 8 weeks early in September of 2010. She weighed a whopping 3lbs 8oz and stayed in the NICU for 12 long days. It was the hardest thing I've ever been through, but she's a fighter and made it through with NO problems. When I heard about the March for Babies the following April I HAD to be a part. We raised almost $2,000 on our very first walk! The walk was an amazing experience. It was very emotional for me because it brought up the pain of seeing her so tiny and hooked up to all kinds of tubes, but I was also so very grateful that she didn't have a flower in The Memory Garden. We walked in HONOR of Amayah.

So back to the banquet...of course getting there did not go smoothly. The dinner started at 5:30 and after jumping my car AGAIN, willing a bird out of my garage(I have a fear that all birds want to attack me. I have no clue why because this has never happened :-/), and getting everyone dressed we were late, but I was determined to get there.

The dinner was nice. Amayah was recognized as a "Top Walker" and received a medal. She was even included in the slide show! I was so proud. After the dinner we got to bowl for a few hours. And the fun began,lol!

Of course Aaron had never been bowling, he's 2. He was mesmerized by the entire experience. He didn't care which ball he got or how much it weighed. He just wanted to throw it! He had a blast pushing the ball down the kiddie ramp, but of course that didn't last long. He wanted nothing more than to run out onto the lane...and he did!!! There he stood, in the middle of the super greasy lane while I stood at the black line yelling at him through my teeth to come back(I've got this under control right? Can't let all these people think I can't control a fearless, adventure loving 2 year old!). Yeah right...He saw that I was mad and really trying NOT to walk out onto the lane myself so this made it even more fun. I finally took my first slippery step onto the lane and got my kid. Luckily I didn't fall and bust both of our butts!

This was just the beginning of Aaron's madness. For the rest of the night he slid across the floor as if he were skating. Remember Mary Katherine Gellar from Saturday Night Live? Yeah, he was pretty much doing "SUPERSTAR!" for the rest of the night(minus the arm pit smelling of course). I was EXHAUSTED from bringing him back from the lanes, keeping him out of the other bowlers way, and lugging back the balls that BammBamm tried to throw down the lane. And the night wouldn't be complete without a full blown, red face, tears and snot tantrum. At one point he even started resetting the games by pushing the button on the ball return thingy. Geez. One day this stuff will all be hilarious memories. It's just never funny as it's happening ;-)

dead battery, lost keys, and screaming babies, OH MY!!!

In an attempt to take my kids swimming yesterday, I almost lost my mind. You know when you have those days where one thing goes wrong and then it turns into a "terrible, horrible, no good, very bad" day? Yeah....

I'd packed up the kids(a diaper bag, a swim bag, a bottle bag...did I forget any bags?) and we were headed to the car. I dedided to put my plethora of bags in the car before bringing the munchkins out and when I opened the car door...no interior lights. My car has a strange habit of draining the battery. I don't know how or why. I've tried turning everything off, but it still dies randomly. Grrr...

At this point the garage is opened(which in Aaron's mind is a cue to run for freedom!), Amayah is screaming in her carseat, I'm wearing a swimsuit(with a dress over it of course!!!), and my stupid car won't start. UGH!

Luckily the last time my battery died, my father in law left his battery charger at our house. But....how was I supposed to know how to hook this thing up!?! I called my friend DeeDee who luckily could have gotten my car started in a pair of sparkly Steve Madden pumps ;-)

Great! Battery charged so let's go! Wait...where are my keys? I opened the car door and the alarm starts blaring! I can't stop it because I DON'T HAVE MY KEYS!!!! How do you lose your keys while trying to start your car!?! If anyone can handle that task...it's me.

Found the keys. Car is running. Aaron's hungry now. Great...

My child is obsessed with broccoli. He would eat it for every meal if I let him. It's great that he loves his veggies, but he eats the ENTIRE pack. Like no broccoli for the rest of t he family. He went into the freezer and politely pulled out a pack and said "I want it! Bra-key!"(we don't know why he yells "I want it" instead of asking...I think he thinks he is...) Fine. After this day a bag of "bra-key" is fine...that is until he decorated himself and our kitchen table with the cheese from his "bra-key"

At this point I just want to crawl into bed and try again another day. Oh no! Aaron is having a blast and decides that a nap is not in order.

I start dinner and we play. He tries to wear Maya's onesie...he's so silly. We go outside and play with sidewalk chalk, watch birds fly, and eat popsicles with our neighbor. Maya LOVED her first popsicle. After such a dramatic day, night came with little madness. Aaron had chicken and rice for dinner...until Maya got Frosted Flakes and he wanted in on that action. The kids had a blast during bath time and they both went down for the night without a fuss.

I poured myself a glass of wine and ran a bath. Yeah, life is crazy, but I wouldn't have it any other way.

And no...we never went swimming ;-)

The Princess and The Frog...boots

Why "The Princess and The Frog Boots" you ask? It describes my kids perfectly...and the other three "perfect" names I came up with were already taken...

Amayah is 8 months old, and by far the fattest preemie I've ever seen. She is quite the little lady. You will usually find her rocking the latest in fashionable baby headbands, a tutu, or some other girly frock(today she's rockin a halter dress). She has diamond earrings and pink polished toes. Even in the NICU her area was decorated with hot pink and Hello Kitty. Her carseat is hot pink with zebra stripes. She will, without a doubt, play football...or maybe she'll be one of those roller derby girls where she wears a super cute outfit and knocks the crap out of the other girls. I've already accepted this and will continue my current reign of pink princess domination until she can tell me to stop ;-)

Aaron is a hot mess. He's 2. He's a boy. Nuff said,huh? Aaron enjoys splashing in water, hurling any and everything down the stairs with brute force, eating entire bags of Green Giant broccoli, cars, trucks, dirt, Caillou...and most of all, wearing his green frog boots. He wears them EVERYWHERE! In the tub, to Target, outside to play. It doesn't matter what he's wearing. The frog boots are a must. And they don't even have to be HIS frog boots. On a recent playdate he found the other child's frog boots and immediately put them on....le sigh. There have been several mornings that I've gone into his room to wake him up and I find him curled up in bed...wearing the frog boots. It's the best $6 my Mom ever spent. He's currently wearing swimtrunks and one boot...don't even ask.

So there you have it. I have a Princess and Frog Boot wearing Prince ;-)

Here's to you fb friends!

I've been on facebook for the majority of my adult life. I signed up my first year of college, and well...I graduated in '05 ;-) I've shared my life online for years, and people have often commented that I should blog more about it.

Most people don't know but I'm a natural born writer. In elementary I started writing poetry and short stories. In college, I would write my papers while my friends cooked dinner in the kitchen and I'd be finished before the food. Writing is my gift. Its just what I do.

After entering the "real world" writing went to the wayside. There was no time for creative writing when there were budgets to be met and meetings to attend. I didn't think much about it until my son, Aaron was born.

Aaron turned my world upside down! This chunky baby boy came into my life with his own tiny agenda. He did what he wanted, when he wanted to, and he didn't give a crap what I thought about it! In general he was a great baby, but things he did were HILARIOUS...so I wrote about them on my fb page. People LOVED it so I kept going. I've been writing "status updates" about his ridiculous behavior since '09 and when Miss Amayah joined the family the stories just got even better.

So there we have it. My first blog entry. Not quite the hilarious banter you may be used to from me, but I figured I should give a little back story to my blog. More about The Princess and The Frog Boots to come!