Our Brynnie Girl...

This weekend was the much anticipated Father Daughter Dance at Bellview! This is a special night that we look forward to each year. This year's theme was 'Under the Neon Lights" so when she found a neon blue and green dress with peace signs on it, there was NO talking her into the cute little princess dress I found! But this girl knows what she wants- and this momma lets her make her own choices... most of the time! ;)
Nama came over to help curl her hair- she wanted wavy big girl curls! ;)

My loves! These two have SUCH a special relationship- Gregg's eyes just light up when he sees his beautiful girl. I love watching the two of them together...

I can't believe how big my sweet baby girl is getting! Every day she warms my heart with her smile, challenges me with her spunk, and fills my soul with her contagious joy. We LOVE you sweet Brynnie!

Laundry or Ice Cream?

Like most families, our mornings around here are pretty busy. I usually wake up too late, there's a good chance at least one person is grumpy, and I am almost always late to work. But as long as everyone is wearing clothes that generally match and have eaten some type of breakfast, I consider the morning successful. This morning, Brynn apparently had her heart set on wearing a specific outfit that required a white tank top that was nowhere to be found. I told her that I would make sure it was washed this weekend. THAT was not the answer she was looking for.
Brynn is a precious little thing with a big heart. When she's happy, she's REALLY happy, but when she's upset, she's REALLY upset. When the wails begin I know one of two things is going to happen. 1- I either engage and get fired up as well. This scenario results in both of us either crying and/or yelling at each other. Not pretty. 2- I can mantain my cool and we separate. I don't engage until she is calm enough to talk to me about the situation. This morning I chose option 2...
After Brynn calmed down we had a talk about a choices. The day before had been great- I had a good day at school followed by a very successful parent-teacher conference. I decided to leave that mess on my back table and pick up the kids earlier than normal for ice cream. That evening was great too- we all sat on the couch, watched TV, cuddled, and laughed. Yes- we had hot dogs and raw veggies for dinner. Yes- the laundry was over flowing. Yes- our cleaning lady was coming and the house was a wreck. But we made the choice to leave it all and enjoy each other. I apologized to her, but explained that every day we have choices to make. She seemed a lot more understanding when I explained that I chose HER over the laundry. ;)
There are days when I stay at school way too late instead of taking the kids to the park. There are days when I spend too much time worrying about the dishes in the kitchen or the never ending to-do list. I get worked up over how unorganized I am or how messy the house is. But you know, some days you just need to choose ice cream!

All You Need Is Love

I'm generally not a big fan of Valentine's Day. There's just so much stuff that I sometimes feel a lot of the real meaning can get lost. Gregg and I rarely celebrate- it's definitely more of a family holiday for us. On a good mom day in the past I have had a scavenger hunt for the kids with cutesy rhyming clues and candy and gifts for them to find at the end. Uh- not this year. It was the day before and I realized I had not one thing planned. If nothing else, a teacher can modify and go with the flow, so that is just what we did! We sat around the kitchen table armed with glue sticks, markers, and construction paper and went to town making homeade Valentines- even Gregg! Brynn made everyone a card with some sort of special coupon for something...

...And Connor made something different for each person. My favorite was the Razorback he drew for Gregg or the acrostic poem he wrote for Cowen... C-Crazy and fun, O- Out with the diapers!, W- Wow! You're awesome!, E- Everyone loves you, N- Never grumpy when you're around. :)

I will take these Valentines ANY day! I think we started a new family tradition! ;)

Snow Day

Start Your Engines!

So I am SO not crafty or artistic. Usually my kids' birthday parties consist of showing up somewhere like Jump Zone with a Rick's cake or having Lala plan our parties! But, for whatever reason, this year I decided we needed to go all out! Cowen is OBSESSED with Cars! He has almost ALL of them. Gregg, I mean Cowen, loves to hunt them down and collect them! :) So a Cars party was a no-brainer. Some of it was pinterest-inspired, but it always came down to one question... What would Lala do? I hope I made her proud! :) Disclaimer: Good mom- FUN party! Bad Mom- Didn't charge the good camera and was having way too much fun to snap very many good pictures. Lala happens to be our family photographer too! :)

Guido's Pit Stop was goody-bag central! Spare tires (oreos), red and yellow candy, gumballs, cars fruit snacks, and tattoos

We snacked on Lightning's Little Munchies (Cheddar Chex Mix), Sally's celery and carrots, Fillmore's Fruit Kabobs, and Mater Munch (monkey munch)

Happy Birthday to YOU, Sweet boy!

Had a great time with his buddies!

Someone special was there with us... Thank you, Emily! ;)

The kids had so much fun driving through Radiator Springs! They made stops off at Ramone's House of Body Art and Luigi's Casa Della Tires! :)

I think the grown-ups had fun too! :)

Happy Birthday, Cowen!

This was quite a hectic week in the Eide household. Usually, not much else gets accomplished during parent-teacher conference week at our house. As long as everyone eats something for dinner and goes to bed on time, I consider it successful. Well for whatever reason, I decide to go all "Holly" on Cowen's birthday party this year- even though it was the same week as conferences! There were several night-time and lunch-break runs to Wal-Mart and Hobby Lobby and I don't think I slept much, but it was TOTALLY worth-it!

He requested orange rolls for breakfast! :)

I was kind of having a rough morning... Hubby thought these might brighten my day! ;)

We spent dinner with the Hitts and came home for ice cream sundaes-Cowen really likes the cherries! ;)
We also began a new tradition- we curled up in my bed and read On the Day You were Born and Heaven is for Real for Kids- perfection! :) Happy Birthday, sweet boy... you are our JOY!

Bittersweet...

As I tucked Cowen in tonight, I couldn't help but hug him tighter, stare into his face, watch his chest rise and fall, and just MISS her.
I sometimes find myself thinking of all the what ifs and the regrets. I try like hell to remember every second that she was here. But then that sweet voice brings me back to reality... "Mommy, why are you crying? Are you crying because you miss Lilly Kate? Please don't cry, Mommy." I wipe my tears, remind him how much I love him, and pull myself together.
This is the hardest part... trying to balance my grief and joy. This is the definition of bittersweet. I live with it every day- the joy of watching Cowen grow and change, the awe of how wonderful Connor and Brynn are with him, and the questions... What would she be like? How would her laugh sound? What color were her eyes?
Of course I'm always excited about celebrating Cowen's birthday- his happiness and excitement are contagious! And even though it's the day we got to meet Lilly Kate, it's also the day we had to say goodbye. Not only do I have to fight back the tears as we sing happy birthday to sweet Cowen, but I also have to battle the guilt I feel for being sad on his birthday. It's not an easy situation, but I just hang on, push through those moments, and hope next year is a little easier.
I have rarely, if ever, posted pictures of our sweet angel. I am pretty protective of her- her neural tube defect, anencephaly, causes the base of the skull to not form, leaving little support for her facial structure. But I'm feeling brave tonight I guess so here goes... Happy Birthday, precious Lilly Kate...

I'm With Miller!

Many of you know the story of sweet baby Miller. For those of you that don't, Miller is an angel who passed away in June. He was born in March and was soon diagnosed with Spinal Muscular Atrophy. He accomplished more in his 87 days of life than some people do in 87 years. His parents have been incredible examples love, courage, faith and strength for literally thousands of people who have been drawn to their amazing story. They have started a foundation in his honor to raise awareness, fund research, and offer support to other families who are faced with the challenge of SMA. You can get more information and follow their incredible story here...

http://www.imwithmiller.com/

Today is Super Miller Sunday! You can help support the Miller McNeil Woodruff foundation by 'liking' the sponsoring pages on facebook from now until midnight. For every new like these businesses get, they will donate $1 to the foundation. Please follow this link and 'like' away!

http://nwahomepage.com/home/miller

I'm with Miller! /\/\/\/\/\