Happy House Reunion

Last weekend we went up to Decorah to see all of my college roommates. Our senior year we lived in a house called The Happy House (no idea who gave the house that name, but we lived up to it:) We lived there with 7 girls, 4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. Somehow it worked great and we had an unforgettable senior year.

While in Deoorah, we spent some time with the husbands/boyfriends and kids and then some quality time with just the girls. I hadn't been out much since Mya was born, so it was really nice to catch up with everyone and enjoy an evening out. We also got all of the kids together in their luther shirts and took a picture. I'm going to send it into the Luther Alumni magazine and hopefully they'll publish it. I think we have the cutest kids around. Hopefully we can afford to send our kids there in 2025:) Here is a picture of all the kids....the future Norse!

Home Alone...AHHHH!!!

There's definitely a reason why every child needs a mom and a dad. Tonight Chris is gone and I'm attempting to put 2 kids to bed alone. As I write...Max is crying and has been for 35 minutes and Mya has been asleep and then awake 5 times in the past half hour! Max is very much into his routine and if we mess with it, it usually means some tears will be shed. I didn't give him a bath tonight for fear that Mya would wake up while he was in the tub and then I'd be in real trouble! I'll get through it, but I thought writing might help me de-stress. I have been drinking a glass of wine as I go back and forth between Max and Mya's rooms which is helping too:) Someday, I'll just have to say, "Max, Mya...time for bed." They will be able to go to bed without a bath, without milk, without rocking and without reading books. When that day finally comes, I'll probably miss nights like this.

All is quiet now...I think I'll drink some more wine!

Weekend Update

Hello! Hope everyone had a nice weekend. We are just sitting down to watch Desperate Housewives and wind down from a busy weekend. Friday night Chris's parents came down to watch Max and Mya for us on Saturday so we could go to Iowa City to tailgate and watch the Hawkeyes slaughter the Badgers! We had a great time getting away despite leaving Cedar Falls at 5 a.m. to drive to the game in the fog. We went with our friends Joe and Tracy and met up with Ron and Maryanne. Max and Mya did great with
Grandma and Grandpa!

The only other new things are that Mya doesn't nap, Max now can poop on the little potty, and our computer has a bad virus so no internet again. Seriously...Mya doesn't nap. Today she slept at church, for 20 minutes in Linda's arms and then for 10 minutes on the way to the mall. That's it. Now you can understand why I can't find time in a day to bring our garbage can in from the curb!! Luckily, she does sleep at night, but we'd like her to get this day sleeping thing figured out soon.

My sister Tara is coming this week to spend a few days with us, so we're looking forward to that. I'll put some more pictures on when I get my computer back!! For now..it's Chris's work computer in the evening. Thank goodness for wireless internet!

Pee!

We have had a nightly routine for the most part since Mya was born. Beth gives Mya a bath while I try to distract Max from wanting to get in the bathroom. Many times it just ends with me giving up and Beth having both kids in there at once. Then once Mya is done and Beth takes her to bed, I give Max a bath and then read him a few books before putting him down. It's worked pretty well so far even though we think that sometimes it feels like we are single parents with one taking each kid every night.

Well here's a quick story about Max and bath time. When he was a baby, he hated, and I mean hated, water and baths. So much so that I of course called upon my wife's superior child rearing skills during those times and let her handle him. It might sound like a cop out, but there are certain things that I just think a mom can handle better than a dad. At least this dad anyways. Eventually, Max mellowed out and Beth and I would trade off baths and story time every other night. Then comes Mya and it just made sense to have Beth take care of her because of nursing. Since then, it's been Me and Max. My system for him is to get him cleaned up immediately and then let him have some fun before getting out. Sometimes he asks for "bubbles" and we do bubbles - that's thanks to Grandma Huinker that he wants that all the time. Lately fun has meant filling up this little fish that has a hole in it and squeezing it so that the water squirts out all over me and the bathroom. He loves that game and I love hearing his infectious laugh over and over again when he sees me get all wet.

Tonight was a special night though. We got him a "potty" a couple months back just thinking that we would have it around for when the time finally came. First few nights I would sit him on there and use word association and it has a fun tune that plays when the bottom of the bowl gets wet so I'd throw some water in there to show him how fun it was... After those first few times, he would just sit on it himself before getting in the tub. He says "potty", then backs up, sits down, nothing happens, he gets bored after 10 seconds and then is ready for the bath. Tonight he said "potty", backed up, sat down, and peed! I never thought I would be so excited, but I felt like my kid aced his ACTs. He loved the music it made so much, he did it a few more times. And then he said "poop". "Poop" is one of his favorite words thanks to his Grandpa Hoden taking him out in the yard with a shovel to clean up after Chloe. We can't go outside now without him saying "poop" a few dozen times. At least tonight when he said it nothing happened, but it's obvious he knows what's going on. I know he's far from potty-trained, but it was fun to see this little step.

That was the real excitement for the night. After the bath ends, we read a few books together. I have a few memorized - Beth has many memorized. Max is starting to fill in words to the stories (at least when he doesn't have his blanket shoved in his mouth). That blanket is a topic for a whole different story... When I think he's had enough reading, he gives me a big bear hug, repeats me saying "Lub you" and "night night". At the risk of sounding too sentimental, I love that part of my day.

So here's to Max and peeing in a bowl!

"Maternity Leave" is over

Tomorow Mya will be 12 weeks old. If I were to be going back to work, it would be my last day home. It got me thinking about some things so I thought I'd write them down!

What I miss about work (in no particular order)
1. School lunch. Sounds crazy, but I actually really liked the school food! I miss having someone prepare food for me...oh, and the cost. It was arond $2 for a salad, entree, fruit or vegetable, dessert and milk:)
2. Talking with my colleagues at lunch and between classes. I miss hearing about people's weekends, what kinds of crazy e-mails they've gotten from parents, etc.
3. Seeing the students each day and talking to them about their lives. Hearing about the big game the night before or looking at a picture in a magazine of their prom dress.
4. Listening to the radio on the way to and from work. Now, I just hear Pop Goes the Weasel when I turn the van on.
5. Making phone calls in the car uninterrupted
6. Sick days
7. A paycheck

What I don't miss (again..in no particular order)
1. Lesson planning
2. Grading papers and tests
3. Having to be somewhere on time
4. Parent teacher conferences
5. Inservices
6. Having to decide at 3:00 a.m. whose job is more important the next day and who is going to stay home with a sick child.

My misconceptions about being a stay-at-home mom
1. I thought I could get a nap in each day.
2. I'd be caught up with Days of our Lives and Oprah. (haven't seen Days in 2 years and have seen a few episodes of Oprah on DVR)
3. The baby books would be updated weekly since I would have time. (haven't touched them since Mya was 3 weeks old)
4. Since I'm staying home, my kids won't be as sick. WRONG!! We've been to the doctor more times in the past 12 weeks than I care to admit. In fact, we were just there today and heard the dreaded words..."it's only a virus!"
5. I thought I'd be hanging out at Panera, going to story time at the library, meeting friends for lunch or shopping at the mall all the time! Nope...we mostly hang out at home and that's actually the way I like it right now:) In time, we will do those things I am sure.
6. I assumed that since I was not employed outside the home, I wouldn't have a boss. WRONG again. My boss is 19 months old and named Maxwell.
7. I also didn't know how wonderful it would be to see all of the little things that go on each day while being here with Max and Mya. I feel very fortunate and blessed to be able to stay home with them. Stay tuned to the next 12 weeks! There's no tellin' what could happen around the Hoden household:)

Run Run Run

Pumpkin Patch

Today we went to Heartland Farms pumpkin patch with our friends Joe and Tracy and their kids Tate and Adria. It was such a beautiful day and we had a great time! Max ran wild. We could not get him to sit still enough for a picture for the first hour or so that we were there. They had slides, blow up bouncy things, farm animals, hay rides, haunted corn, a pumpkin-ator, and lots more! He wanted to touch all of the animals and as Adria unfortunately found out, they don't always like children! (she just got a little bit of skin taken off her finger by a chicken:) Mya slept the whole time in the baby bjorn. Thank goodness for whoever invented that thing. We would be stuck at home without it! Sounds like we have rain and cool weather coming soon, so I'm glad we got outside today!

This weekend is also Homecoming at Luther. I think it's the first one I have missed since graduation in 2002. I thought the reason Luther always won the football game on homecoming was because Rachel and I were in the crowd cheering, but apparently not because they beat nationally ranked Central College today! It is also Luther womens tennis alumni weekend. It would have been nice to get together with some of my old teammates, but we have been traveling a lot lately and will be doing more in the next few weeks, so we needed a weekend home.

Hopefully everyone got out and enjoyed the weather today!

Olivia's baptism

Sunday, Sept 28th was our niece Oliva's baptism back in Decorah. Chris and I were honored to be her Godparents. The whole baptism was actually pretty funny. At one point, I could have sworn Brian was going to dunk Olivia's head in the holy water. Father Phil was giving orders about the holy water, oil and baptismal candle to the only non-catholic in the bunch (Chris) so it was pretty funny to watch Chris try to figure out what he meant. Max and Mya did not do well in church. Probably had a lot to to with driving an hour and a half and then sitting in church. Another funny moment happened when Max dropped a raisin in the holy water and when he started writing on the glass door with the baptismal candle that he took out of the diaper bag. Thank goodness for Aunt Mary who took care of the two of them during the major meltdowns:)

My mom pointed out to me that Sunday was 8 years to the day that Brian came home from the hospital after his serious car accident. 8 years ago he was a 22 year old laying in a hospital bed with numerous broken bones and needed my mom to do everything for him and now he has a beautiful daughter of his own being baptized. We have a lot to be thankful for!

Max, Mya and I spent a few days in Decorah after the baptism. Chris had to interview at Luther on Tuesday, so we stayed and he came back to pick us up. It was nice to be home and spend time with my parents and Amanda and Olivia too. Too bad my kids gave Olivia her first cold:( Hopefully she is feeling better soon!) The big news of today is that Mya finally pooped. She went Saturday to Wednesday without...so hopefully she will be able to sleep now:) Max's new thing is that he throws up his arms and says touchdown! It's pretty cute. We'll try to get it on tape and put it out for you to see!

John Deere Green

Today the John Deere Waterloo Works threw itself a 90th anniversary party in downtown Waterloo. We ventured out for our first real 4-person family event with the Baby Bjorn and a stroller. It was a little like the state fair with all the food and tractors and people everywhere. Max loved the "tradors" so much that he was not happy when we had to stand in line for him to climb up into them. We chatted with some friends we ran into and walked around looking at the displays. Overall it was good time and the kids did great. It's always a fine line with knowing how much is too much for Max and we got this one just right. After a couple hours, we were able to pry him away from the JD Gator he was pretending to drive and got in the car to head home. About half way home the meltdown started and 15 seconds after we were in the door I think he was asleep in his crib. Whew! Fun day and well done by JD.

Chloe Joanne Hoden

I decided to write a little blog about our dog Chloe. Yes, she does have a middle name. My cousins Kylie and Kelsey gave it to her. It is a combination of Chris's middle name Joel and mine which is Anne. My pets have always had middle names...Raisin Cream Pie Huinker for example. Chloe is going to be 4 years old on October 27th. She has been both a blessing and a curse during my first few months as a stay at home mom. She does create more work for me, like when she wants to go out or come in right as I sit down to nurse Mya, or when she rips up a diaper or when she eats the plastic off the end of Max's bat and then pukes it up the next morning and I proceed to step in the puke as I wait for the toast to pop up. Or, when I let her ride along in the car and she shoots out the side door and I have to go chase her around. By the way..she only has one master and it's not me:)

You're probably wondering by now..how is she a blessing? Well, she is free entertainment for Max. They are truly best friends. You wouldn't believe their relationship. Max's favorite thing to do is give her treats, but he terrorizes her first by running around the house for 5 minutes egging her on to get it. He uses her as a step stool when he wants to reach something. He chases her with the corn popper, the swiffer, the tennis racquet, the baseball bat, the shovel, etc. Max pulls her hair, grabs her nose, and pokes her in the eyes. Whenever I need something for Max to do, I tell him to go find Chloe and it can buy me a much needed 2 minute break while he tries to find her. Chloe just takes all of it without saying a peep.

She is not always the victim though. Around meal times, she just sits right under his high chair and gets fed plenty. When Max decides he is done eating, he gives her the leftovers. When he gets up from his chair, she gets everything that falls from his bib or lap. Until lately, during naptime you could always find Chloe sleeping in Max's room. I close his door all the way now and Chloe sits outside his room and whines to get in. She is also really good with Mya. I'm not sure how, but she always manages to walk right around Mya, but never steps on her.

There have been moments when I've come close to putting Chloe up for adoption (when Chris is at work of course) but most of the time, she is a great dog. Enjoy some pictures!

Using Chloe as a chair while he eats his popsicle

Chloe sleeping next to Mya (mom..I'm guessing you're cringing looking at this picture:)

Playing in the hose together

playing tug-of-war together

double-teaming the dishwasher

Did I mention, Max loves to pick up poop????