Halloween Pics

Our version of Venom (the black spiderman), Batgirl, Roo, Piglet & Eeyore.

All the excitement got to the twins =0)

Thank goodness for the wagon.

Eeyore's hitchin' a ride with Daddy.

Proud Soccer Mom

We just wrapped up soccer for the fall season. Here are the kids' pictures from this season:

Mikayla dominated in her U5 league. She had 7 goals in one game! It's fun to see her getting aggressive on the field - pushing, shoving, going after the ball...no matter who has it. Now we just have to work on the "team work" aspects, like not taking the ball away from her teammates.

Jordan was in the U6 league. This league was much more competitive than U5. It was fun watching these kids develop. They are starting to really build on the fundamentals of dribbling, passing, trapping & shooting. Jordan played well and had a lot of fun. He couldn't stop laughing on the field because he was so happy. Now if we can focus that energy next season...the possibilites are endless!

Can you smell what the Jack is cookin'?

I should preface this story (and many others) by saying that I do have control over my children. They are just fast little buggers and I happen to be about 1 step behind them. I've become a lot less judgemental about some of the stories you read about. "It all happened so quickly." "I turned my back for a second." Sometimes it truly is just 1 second! So...don't judge me =)

10/24/07
“Mommy, what smells like onions?” asked Mikayla. I go to the kitchen to explore the alleged odor. “Why that would be the gas to our oven, Mikayla. Stand back!” I replied. Yep. Turns out Jack was playing with the knobs to the stove. He put the front burner on ignite. At least he didn’t turn the flame on. Bad news – I have no idea how long he bled the gas line and can only be thankful there wasn’t a spark that would have set the whole house on fire. Good news – my sister found these plastic inserts that keep the knobs from being pushed in to ignite the burner. Now we can all rest a little easier!

“Do as I say, not as I do” from a 19-month-old

The other day, Ryne got a hold of the Desitin that we so lovingly refer to as “Butt Cream”. Payton went up to him and said “NO”, took it away from him, and handed me the tube of cream. What a helper! She's already acting as another set of eyes for me. Oh, but 10 minutes later, this is what I find:

Payton, holding the tube, with butt cream all over her face and Ryne next to her. Ryne had a couple finger swoops of cream on his face, too. At least she shared!

Where was Jack when all of this was going on? On the dining room table of course!

Later that day, Mikayla lovingly buckled Jackson in the child rockers we have. She then proceeded to buckle herself in the one next to him. Why am I writing about this? Because she couldn’t unbuckle herself. Oh the temptation to not leave her in there for a long long while…but then, what kind of mother would I be?

You're supposed to check out a book?

Jordan’s first trip to the school library was great. He was able to see all of the wonderful books at his disposal and learned the process of checking out a book. When Jordan got home from school that day, I expected to find a library book in his backpack. I looked through every pocket (my there are a lot) to no avail. I asked Jordan where his book was. He said “Mom, the librarian said the books have to be back at a certain time and I was worried I would forget it”. He's such a conscientious little boy. So I reassured him that I would help him remember to take his book back on time. Hopefully next library day I will find a book in his backpack.

About Us - A Baker's Half-Dozen!

Momma Brownie - A 29* year-old wife, mother of 5, active member in the twins club and PTO. While still considered young in years by many, life experience has me listed as "old for her age". Well, life experience and all that grey hair - thanks dad! I still work as a nurse part-time in an adult critical care setting. In my spare time (ha ha ha), I enjoy watching tv, doing philanthropy work, reading girly fiction, watching football, and going out with friends.*Please note, actual age will be omitted next year*

Brownie (The Original) - A 33 year-old husband, father of 5, officer in the Air Force, marathon finisher. He works at the NRO as an Operations Research guy. In his free time, he enjoys playing XBox 360, teaching himself how to build a website - asp.net, SQL server, etc- and running. OK. He doesn't love running but he does it, and he finished all 26.2 miles on foot, and we are VERY proud of him!

Jordan (JT) - 6 year-old Kindergartner. He is our handsome, introverted, sweet and sensitive child. Enjoys drawing, learning to read & write, watching tv, legos, bionicles, transformers & superheroes. Named after Michael Jordan - greatest basketball player ever & former Chicago Bull.

Mikayla (Kayla) - Almost 5 year-old. She is our beautiful, carefree, mother hen type. Enjoys dancing, taking care of her siblings & dolls, learning what her brother is learning, playing Wii & Leapster, watching tv. Also named after Michael Jordan.

Jackson (J, Jack, Jack-Jack) - 21 mos. He is our dimple bearing cutie with pent-up aggression that sometimes shows it's face. He enjoys rocking out to music, playing with Keisha (the dog), pushing buttons on the subwoofer and receiver, watching tv, and occasionally tackling his siblings - even the bigger ones. Named after Phil Jackson, arguably the most successful NBA coach with 9 NBA Titles including 6 with the Chicago Bulls.

Payton (P) - 21 mos. She is our cute little daredevil - afraid of nothing and into everything. She jumps, she climbs, she sneaks, and she's fast. Catch her when she's sleepy and there's never been a better cuddler. She is named after Walter Payton, the late-great hall of fame running back for the Chicago Bears.

Ryne (Ry-Ry) - 10 mos. He is Darin's mini-me. He has a great smile with a hearty laugh. He enjoys a good bottle, playing with cars & trains, hitting the drum, keeping up with his siblings, and putting everything he can into his mouth (including dog food). He is named after the Chicago Cubs hall of fame second baseman, Ryne Sandberg.

Why I Blog

I have been thinking about blogging for a while and finally decided to go through with it. It's a commitment that I had to be ready to make. Sometimes life gets too hectic to document everything. I mean, Jordan has a baby book. Mikayla has a library of pictures that we took, albeit they're still on the computer and have yet to be printed. Jackson, Payton & Ryne...well we rely on my mother to take pictures at visits and family events. I'm already getting the mommy brain -that is scattered in a million different directions- and I don't want to lose these precious moments forever. So if for no other reason, I blog to snapshot the bits and pieces of our lives so we can relive them long after the details have faded from our memory. Hopefully in the process, our friends and family will enjoy reading about our adventures and seeing our family grow (older...not in numbers! There will be no more little Brownies)!