Maschger Musings

Were still here...sort of

2011-01-29T16:21:00.001-05:00

Well it has obviously been a long time since Tam and I have updated our blog. Things have been very hectic, chaotic, and stressful. Basically, everything is normal. However, a lot has happened since we last posted in June. Because nobody would want to sit through a recounting of everything that has gone on, including me, I will just give you the highlights.

On November 23, 2010, Tam gave birth to a beautiful Elizabeth Nan Maschger. She is a gem and seems to be not as demanding as our other babies were. She is growing very large very quickly. She is a joy to have in the house and her three older sisters have taken to her very well. Sometimes we have to protect Lizzie from them. Now that we are the parents of four daughters, I have officially put my man-card in a safety deposit box until such time as it is safe to pull it out, and I fear for the time when the girls start dating. After all they are already taking about marriage.

Madelynn is growing into a beautiful young woman. In fact she is convinced that she is a grown up because she is in size one women’s shoes. She LOVES to read, and will read anything she can get her hands on. She often would prefer to read over just about anything else including eating, playing, sleeping, etc. Sometimes Mom and Dad have to force her to put her books down. One book that she enjoyed a lot was a medical book that talked about the human body and sicknesses. It was created to help the reader understand various common diseases and injuries and help a patient “diagnose” common ailments. More than once Maddie would diagnosis someone with a broken bone or skull because they hit their head, or when Emma was sick with a cold Maddie would be the nurse and have Emma lay on the couch and so she could take care of Emma. (Emma ate all of this attention up.) She recently read a book about the Sun and our Galaxy and was so enthralled by it that she declared that she wanted to now become a space scientist. Of course, she also wants to become a nurse, teacher, and writer too. She is going to be busy.

Emma is also developing into a beautiful young woman. She has an incredible ability and desire to see what people need and then attempts to serve them. She also is very competitive so she will often race to help someone so she can beat her sister at it. This usually is not a problem until the tempers fly and someone gets hit or clotheslined. Emma has a special relationship with her sister Eleanor. Emma can get Ellie to stop and play (freeing up mom for other essential household activities). Emma is a very responsible girl who, even though she would rather play her own game, will help Mom by taking care of Ellie.

Eleanor is a force to be reckoned with. She never stops moving and getting into things. Tam and I are unable to leave her alone. She certainly keeps us on our toes. If we do not know where Ellie is something valuable is getting broken. There are two things that she cannot possibly leave alone, computers and bathrooms. Both present an irresistible pleasure for her, even though she gets in trouble every time. She is smart and very capable of figuring out ways to get into what she wants. It is exhausting trying to keep up with her.

Tamara is busy being the mother of four. She is homeschooling our daughters and is doing a phenomenal job. She runs a tight ship at home, and is doing an awesome job keeping it all together. (She of course would disagree) However, I as an unbiased husband, have claimed the right to say that she is rocking the family thing and making miracles happen everyday in the home.

I have finally finished my masters degree from the National Defense Intelligence College. It took a bit longer then expected but I finished my 88 page thesis and will finally get my wall art this summer. It was a long, exhausting, mentally strenuous experience but I am glad I did it. I really enjoyed the classes, most of the teachers, and the topics discussed.

Another major family event is that I got orders at the end of last year and on December 15, 2010 Tam and I moved the family to live with her parents in Blue Springs, MO. Because the Navy is sending me to the Middle East for an Unaccompanied tour. I have about six months worth of training state-side before I leave for the region and then I will be there for a year tour. Altogether, that is around 18 months away from the family. I left on January 2, 2011 for Pensacola, FL for aircrew training, because my orders will have me riding in airplanes. The schooling so far has been difficult and has caused me several times to question what I was doing, but with the faith and prayers of my wife and the blessings of the Lord, I will be graduating this Thursday, and moving on to three more schools. I do not relish being away from my family, but we are not the first military family being asked to make these sacrifices. I am to my core a family man, and miss them terribly. However, this tour will hit a lot milestones that are important for the career path that Tam and I have chosen.

Maschger Family Photos 2010

2010-06-08T21:49:00.001-05:00

So, about 3-4 months ago, our family spent an afternoon down in Ellicott City, Maryland getting our pictures taken by our incredibly talented friend...here are the results...FINALLY!

Create a photo slideshow

Last Post for the Day. I Promise, but You Are Not Going to Want to Miss This

2010-04-27T08:55:00.002-05:00

Many of you have probably already heard, but we figured we should probably put the word out officially.

I will be getting orders soon to Bahrain for a year. Tam will go and live with her parents during that time. I am scheduled to begin training the end of November.

Now for the really really exciting news!!!

WE ARE PREGNANT!!!!! Well Tam is pregnant, my work is done. I now get to sit back and relax.

We are excited for number four. Maddie is praying that it will be a boy and Emma is praying that it will be a girl. Originally they were praying for twins. I am glad that they switched what they were praying for. Because we know that Heavenly Father definitely answers prayers. (Is it bad that I prayed that my daughters twin prayer NOT be answered? Something to ponder.)

The due date is December 5, 2010 and I am scheduled to leave the week before that. Thankfully, Tam's doctor does not want her to go past her 38th week because of Tam's health issues. So, basically this is how the delivery will go: "Breath honey. Now Push Honey! Oh look its so cute! Well I gotta go dear have fun and see you later!" In all seriousness I am grateful I will be her for the delivery, but I am saddened that I will leave so soon after.

I am also using these blog posts as a way to procrastinate writing my 5 assignments that are due this week. (Only about a combined total of 30-40 written pages and two presentations.) No biggie? Right?

I hope everyone of you is doing well. Take care. Love the Maschgers

Run Run Run Around We Run Around

2010-04-27T08:45:00.002-05:00

On Earth Day April 22, 2010, Fort Meade held a 5K race and our whole family ran. Mom and Dad ran with the girls. We were so proud of them. Emma ran the 5k in 42:56 and Maddie ran it in 59:03. Emma ran over a mile and half before she needed to stop to walk for bit. I think it was her competitiveness that motivated her. She hates getting passed. I am so proud of both my girls for their efforts. Emma wants to run another race and Maddie, well afterward, she told us she hated running.

Here is the link to the race results. So check it out: http://ftmeademwr.com/events/RunSeries/EarthDay5kResults.pdf

Maddie's become a Canadian and her facebook friend

2010-04-27T08:30:00.003-05:00

Maddie has started to end just about every sentence with the word "eh" as in "I am going upstairs to put on my pajamas "eh'" and then Emma immediately follows by saying "b, c, d, e,..." Good Canadian times in the Maschger Household.

Maddie has also decided because one of her friends has imaginary friends that she needed to have an imaginary friend as well. So she created one, named George. They met on facebook and during nap time she took a two hour flight to Texas to met him for the first time. We had to negotiate his age with Maddie. Originally George was 17 years old. We told Maddie that Mom and Dad would not allow her to have a 17 year old friend. She then countered with a 10 year old friend. We finally settled on 7 and half years old. So now Maddie has a 7 and half year old facebook friend that lives in Texas and she talks to him incessantly on her cellphone.

Is that not a product our day? My daughter's imagery friend is on facebook. The imaginary friend is probably more active on facebook than Tam and I are.

Love the Maschgers

Gotta Love your Kids!!! No really you do!!!

2010-04-27T08:21:00.002-05:00

So here is a simple new recipe Emma and her friends created.

Ingredients:

1 Large Bowl
1 Full Roll of Toilet Paper
Enough water to fill said bowl
1 Bathroom sink.

Steps:

Fill the bowl with water
Begin to unroll the entire roll of toilet paper into the bowl full of water ensuring that all the paper becomes thoroughly soaked and mushy.

Now taste your creation to ensure proper consistency. If it is to your liking you are done, if not add more toilet paper.

For an extra flourish make sure to spread the water to the bedroom soaking one of the dressers in the room.

After you are done then dump the entire bowl of water and toilet paper down the bathroom sink drain to clog it up.

I hope that you all enjoy this family favorite as much as we do!!!

Love the Maschgers

Socks in Soup

2010-03-06T21:14:00.003-05:00

Today, while the family was sitting down to lunch. We were feasting on a sumptuous fare of soup and grilled cheese sandwiches. Tam and I looked up to see Maddie taking her sock out of her bowl of soup. Well, Tam's and my interest was peaked. We have heard of crackers in soup, but socks were new. I wonder if socks improve the flavor. Maybe they make the socks extra soft, or maybe footsweat is more pleasant when it smells like tomato soup. Tam asked her what the sock was doing in her soup, and Maddie's simple reply "I took off my sock." Well of course, it all makes sense. What were we mere mortals thinking. When you take off your socks, it is only logical that you would place them in soup. Needless, to say Maddie ate her sock flavored soup and now we one REALLY red sock.

We are also the proud new "Pet-Parents" of two new small Koi from Wal-mart. Tam is teaching the girls about fish in Home-school. Tam and I also thought it might be an opportunity to teach a little responsibility to the girls too. It also helps that fish don't bark or chew up carpets or shoes. Our girls have been so excited by the new fish. Maddie named her fish, "Karen"... cause nothing says fish like the name Karen. Emma named her's, the same name she names everything, "Sarah Capia". It is difficult to keep them from harassing the fish. We almost had to get a restraining order against our girls.

That is the latest from Maschger the front.

The SECOND Blizzard...

2010-02-11T17:09:00.000-05:00

Make a Smilebox slideshow

The FIRST Blizzard...

2010-02-10T17:10:00.004-05:00

On February 5th, it started to snow in what was predicted to be a record-breaking snowfall. I was VERY excited, and wanted to document the occasion. So, every hour, on the hour, I snapped a picture of our backyard and a picture of our front yard....here it is:

A Video/Photo Catch Up...

2010-01-07T21:58:00.003-05:00

Here are some pics and video of some goings on around our place lately...the details are in the post that follows...

Love ya!

Make a Smilebox photobook

A New Year...

2010-01-07T20:02:00.002-05:00

SO much to say, and who has the time? Can we sum up? Probably...not...

Suffice it to say, we are all here and alive...

Miles started back to school on Monday after a brief holiday break, during which he had to write several papers and prepare a presentation. His first week back and he has written a 10 page paper, prepared a 15 min presentation, and written another 6 page paper. SIGH! The nights are getting later and later, and we are beginning to wonder what the heck we were thinking!!!!! He has had absolutely NO time to even think about a thesis...which is due the end of June. RIGHT! SIGH! Just thinking about it causes my stomach to start eating itself...so let's move on!

Maddie and I had our first homeschool review at the beginning of December, and we did well...think I over prepared, but that is kind of my thing! :-) Because of the insanity that is the month of December, Maddie pretty much got the whole month off...while she was super excited at the time, now that Mom has her nose back to the grindstone, she and I are thinking that a month is tooo long to not do school. You just forget sooo much! Maddie is reading sooo incredibly well. The other day I checked out a couple of "third" grade chapter books that she and I could read together. She took one to "quiet time" and emerged two hours later having completed the book. I quizzed her, she read it. That night she asked to take the other book to bed, and a couple of hours later (when she should have been sleeping), she came out of her room to announce that the book was really scary, and she was going to have nightmares. We assumed that she'd read to a "scary" point (please keep in mind that my girls had to turn off Tigger and Pooh's Halloween movie because it was too scary...scary is relative around here!) and had stopped. In a coversation the following day, it became readily apparent that she had actually read the entire book. HELLO...SIX! Today we got a new science program, and during lunch Maddie read through the first five chapters, and then spent the rest of the day drawing cell "cities". I am frantically trying to keep up with her, and it is AWESOME! The ability to read is soooooooooooo important...and she not only knows how, she LOVES to read...she is unstoppable!

Then there is Emma. Emma, who will be 5 next month, is quickly gaining some momentum. A couple of months ago she wanted nothing to do with reading, just loved singing her letters and playing sound BINGO! Now, she has several primary readers under her belt and loves to "read" them to whoever will sit still long enough, including her little sister Ellie. She loves to write, and since she plowed right through the kindergarten handwriting book, she has started in on a first grade book. We have told her that until she turned 5 she was only required to do "reading" in "school" (She liked to be a part of school, but working through all the subjects just was a BIT much) I think that she is definitely going to be ready to take on a full school day...and she will be awesome! Emma also continues to be my bestest helper. She amazes me with her innate ability to perceive what others need, and then to quickly respond to that need...without being told. I can't tell you the number of times that I have walked into a room to begin a clean-up to find that it has "magically" cleaned itself...care of Emma, or how often Emma has sat down with Ellie and played with her, or reads to her, keeping her busy so Mom can get stuff done. She is truly a blessing!

That brings us to Ellie. Sweet little Ellie, who will be 1 on Saturday...impossible to believe. Ellie is everywhere and into everything...very age appropriate. Her favorite things in the whole world are her family...she loves to be in the middle of the family, no matter what! Whether we are cleaning, or watching a movie, or snuggling on Mommy and Daddy's bed, or singing...she is right in the middle doing her best to figure out a way to "help" out, or participate! She is also developing a love for books, and wanders around the house carrying one in each hand, looking for somone to read to her.

I am left, in my rare free moments, to ponder the seasons of our lives. To contemplate how even the best laid plans are often revised, and revised, and revised, etc. Wondering what tomorrow will hold...and I'm not talking in the metaphorical sense...I mean, literally, TOMORROW! ;-)

With that, I am off to do dishes, and maybe even get some yoga, or a spin in before Miles gets home from his night class...hmmmm...

Stay tuned for next month! :-)

An Emma Joke...

2009-12-17T23:07:00.002-05:00

Miles overhead the following conversation:

EMMA: Why did the turkey cross the road?
MADDDIE: I don't know. Why?
EMMA: (laughing) To have a baby on the other side!
MADDIE: (in complete disbelief) It had a baby on the SIDEWALK!!!! (pause) Was it a turkey vulture?

An Emma moment: Thursdays at our house are "breakfast-for-dinner" nights. Miles has class at night, and as that is one of his least favorite meals, we girls indulge ourselves. Tonight I made whole-wheat chocolate chip pancakes (the whole-wheat makes me feel better). Emma polished off FOUR pancakes, covered in syrup. Upon completion of her meal of SUGAR, I asked her to clear her place and start her bedtime routine. Emma replied: "MOM!!! WHAT ABOUT DESSERT???" Seriously? Apparently I need to spend some time with basic nutrition! :-)

This laugh has been brought to you by the ever entertaining Maschger girls! Merry Christmas!

2009-12-06T22:03:00.001-05:00

Make a Smilebox collage

Maschger Musical Moment...

2009-11-20T09:13:00.002-05:00

I have in my possession this arrangement for "Away in a Manger" that is written for an organ, a violin and a piano...all to accompany the congregation singing the hymn from the hymn book. Using our really cool digital piano, I recorded the actual hymn and saved it to disc. Then I can play the track on the piano and play the other parts along with the track...anyway, I am learning this piece, and so I am playing it VERY slowly! Maddie and Emma, being the performers they are, couldn't pass up an opportunity to improvise a concert for their Daddy (who happened to be home this morning!) Miles caught it on tape, and it is here for your viewing pleasure!

Maddie does a fine job of projecting her voice, and performs her piece with her whole soul! Emma, in a rare Emma moment, plays the timid and shy role, but her words (the few you can hear) are incredibly sweet and poignant!

Hope you enjoy!

Make a Smilebox collage

Week 1...

2009-08-30T19:58:00.002-05:00

So, just wanted to let you all know that the family has survived week 1 of Miles Master's program, and that we are ready to dive into week 2! :-) What have we learned through this first week of classes? We have learned that we have much to learn...

Miles did an absolutely incredible job staying at school and focusing on studying! We are not naive enough to have thought that any real studying was going to be accomplished here at home, and a brief test run Tuesday morning, proved our point...so Miles is at school ALL day long! However, he also tore himself away from his studies early a couple of night to come home and let me get some grocery shopping done, AND I even got to attend a baby shower completely kid-free! What an awesome man! He and the other members of his "track" (the group of students he'll complete the program with) have formed a study group, have divided up the reading, and have scheduled routine review groups...everyday 40 mins before class! I think that is awesome to be sooo organized this early in the game...and I know all about the power of the study group, saved me through more than one course in my degree seeking days! :-) This week we will be adding in some gym time for both him AND I, and he is going to make an effort to be home for dinner a couple of nights a week... We are giving ourselves a good month to get a feel for what he will really need to put into this program, and what I will really need at home...and we are most confident that it will all fall into place...eventually! :-)

As a humorous side story: Monday night, the first night Miles wasn't home to put the girls to bed, I had put the girls down, and was in the office working on lesson plans...when I hear mournful singing coming from our Maddie (Maddie loves to sing songs of woe...pitiful tunes that tell of the trials of her life! Many times Miles has had to "outlaw" sad songs in our little kingdom!) and as this is a common occurence, I wasn't really paying attention. However, I eventually realized that our little Maddie was singing "I'm so glad when Daddy comes home..." as she sobbed and sobbed and sobbed. Me and my breaking heart went in to comfort Maddie and let her know that Daddy would come home, and that he loved her and missed her, too. I asked her if she would like me to have Daddy come in and give her a hug and kiss...even if she was asleep. That was an acceptable solution, and Maddie quickly quieted down and drifted off to sleep. When I told Miles, he took his breaking heart over to our box of paper and crayons...quickly tore off a couple of sheets and wrote a quick note to both Maddie and Emma. Then he slipped into their room, gave them hugs and kisses, and left the notes under their pillows! OH! Much excitement the next morning...

Well, as these stories often go...the note quickly became a hot item! They requested a note each night...in fact, Miles came home early on Wednesday, and Emma threw a fit because she wanted a note...and since Dad was home to put her in bed that meant no note! Seriously...sometimes you just can't win! :-)

School with the girls is going great. We waaaay overplanned our week this week...we had lots of fun playing with friends, and had a couple of doctor's appointments and a couple of church activities...and the next thing I knew it was Saturday night, and we'd covered less than 1/2 what I had planned for the week. SOOOO...another lesson learned this week! School is the priority...just because we are home, doesn't mean we are available! Lesson learned! :-) Maddie started learning about Egypt this week in history, and has decided history is her favorite subject! :-) She also learned a bit about whales in science...her favorite things about whales...their songs (which she does an excellent imitation of!) AND killer whales! No joke! She watched several videos of YouTube of killer whales chomping on their prey, and she thought that was really cool! My Maddie has a violent streak? :-)

Emma has really stepped up over the last week, and is an incredible Mommy's helper! She LOVES to be tasked with playing with Ellie, or picking up the toys, or even cleaning the guest bathroom! :-) She is also a BIG help in the kitchen...readily available to help stir, or put an ingredient in...it is really nice to have such a dependable 4 year old! :-) She is doing really well on her math, and has enjoyed sitting in on a couple of Maddie's history lessons. She struggled a bit with reading this week, but she made it through all of her lessons, and I am really proud of her for that!

As for Ellie...she is Ellie! She is such a great baby, not fussy, unless you need her to NOT be eating paper, chewing on power cords, crawling down the stairs, etc. She must be in constant motion...even while "holding" her, she is moving...it's not so much holding Ellie, as juggling Ellie! :-) She did wake up Monday morning and decide that she was ready to eat that food out of the jar that Mom had been trying to push through her mouth for the last month or so! Now, she is plowing through at least 3 jars a day...yipee!!!! That means that Mom might be able to pass off the feeding of Ellie to someone else...OH...sweet freedom! :-) She is still cutting teeth...so she can get cranky when the teething tablets wear off, but keep them in her system and she is a gem! :-) I love this kid!

Me? Well...I am tired but content! I am amazed at how well this week played out...and while it was difficult, it was doable! I am blessed with wonderful friends and family who have been incredibly supportive, and I am truly grateful to be able to be a part of this awesome opportunity in Miles' life! It is such a blessing to be able to see your husband truly get energized by what he is doing to earn the paycheck...so I am ready to take on week #2...

Stay tuned! :-) We love and miss you all!

No joke!

2009-08-23T18:18:00.002-05:00

This past week was a BIG one at the Maschger house. Miles started his Master's program, and the girls and I restarted school. I spent the weekend before prepping the "school room" and the girls had new school supplies, and I was ready to roll...until Sunday night/early Monday morning! Both Maddie and Ellie were up on and off ALL night...I didn't really think much of it because Ellie is 7 mos old and Sunday's always mess up the sleep schedule...and Maddie has had a hard time sleeping since birth.

Monday morning, after less than 3 hours of sleep, I was in the school room doing last minute stuff before I got the girls up, when I hear Maddie start to whimper and cry. SIGH! In I go to see what is the DRAMA now...as I approach her, I can feel the heat radiating off of her body. Sure enough, Maddie was running a HIGH fever...what a great first day! Miles was gone at school orientation, so it was just me...at one point I had Maddie in the bathroom throwing up, and Emma in time-out and Ellie screaming in her walker in the kitchen. Welcome Back! :-)

Emma was sick Wednesday and Ellie succumbed on Thursday, and hers coincided with the cutting of three more teeth!...it was a very long week for me! However, one of the perks of homeschooling, was that I could squeeze in lessons at every chance I got. By the end of the week, we had completed all of our work for the week...just behind one math lesson...I can take that! The greatest news...Emma read her first two readers this week!!! She did soooo great...when she came up to a word she didn't know, she took the time to sound it out! It was a great moment, and she is loving being a BIG girl!!!

Miles has been wandering around the house in a state of shock. He spent his first week on campus from 7am until 7pm...it was a LONG week! However, as we poured over his syllabuses for his first quarter, we have realized that this last week was a BREEZE! By Wednesday, 9am, my husband has to read literally hundreds of pages and write a paper...by Thursday, hundreds more...the reading is insane! On top of this, there is the work on his thesis which has to begin almost immediately...

Let me sum it up this way...Miles was told in one of his meetings this week that most Master's programs require 36 hours of course work and a thesis, and give the students 18-24 months to complete...Miles will have 44 credit hours, a thesis and has been given 9 months to complete the program!!!!

We sat the girls down last night and explained that Daddy was going to be insanely busy, and that they weren't going to see him...pretty much Monday thru Saturday. Maddie innocently asked, "Can he eat Saturday breakfast with us?" Miles quickly agreed that he could head to the library a bit later on Saturdays so that he could have breakfast with the family...and then there is always Sundays...

So, that's about it from here...the girls are back in school, Miles is back in school and I am trying to keep up with it all!

We love and miss you all!

Hello?

2009-08-16T08:17:00.002-05:00

Anyone still there?

I have about 10 minutes before I need to move on to the next item on my to-do list for this crazy Sabbath morning...so here I am!

Quickly bringing you up to speed...we are pretty much settled into our new home. All the boxes are unpacked, furniture in its place, etc. Still have pictures to hang on the walls, and a garage to organize...but I figure we'll get that all in place right about the time we move! We are LOVING our new place...LOVING it! Miles and I spent Friday night getting our "school" room set up since we are starting school on Monday, and it is sooooo awesome to have a school room! We have a corner for reading, and word charts hung on the walls, and a place to display art work, etc. It is just awesome!

Ellie is growing insanely fast! She is cruising all over the place...climbing stairs...cruising along furniture, walls, etc.! She is a baby on the move! She is even starting to put her babbles together to get out "mamamamamama" and "dadadadadada" and she almost always says the right string of babbles to the right person! :-) Our frustration with her lack of interest in eating was alleviated when Nana (who visited with Papa last week) discovered that all Ellie wants is big people food! Go figure! She isn't interested in mashed up peas...she wants the real thing...and eats them just fine! :-) So, we have moved on to finger foods, completely skipping over everything else...sigh...

Emma and Maddie are gearing up for school to start, and sad that Daddy isn't going to be home to snuggle with in the morning. Miles has had the last 6 weeks off, and the girls have LOVED having Daddy home...it's going to be an adjustment for us all!

Miles starts his Master's program tomorrow. He is all excitement, stress, nervous, overwhelmed...just a ball of nerves. Deep breath...because ready or not here it comes! He ran a 10K yesterday...even though he hasn't done ANY working out for the last 6 weeks...he completed the run in 53 mins...makes me sick! :-)

I am looking forward to starting up school with the girls, settling back into a routine...I am a little concerned with how I am going to keep up with the whole "cleaning" thing...one of the nice things about our much smaller house, was that it didn't take too long to clean. With this move I easily tripled my square footage...not that I am complaining! :-)

Quick story:

In the van, on the way to Wal-Mart to pick up some needed school supplies (we are going to be building a model of the Nile River...sounds awesome, huh?!) and Miles and I are discussing politics, or the degradation of society...or is that the same thing? Anyway, from the back seat Maddie asks,

MADDIE: Mom, do aliens have brains?
MOM: Well, Maddie, as no one has ever "caught" an alien to check to see, then we really don't know whether they do or they don't.
MADDIE: Well, Gonzo doesn't have a brain, and he is an alien, so I think that aliens don't have brains.

Once you bring Muppets into a conversation, there really is no comeback! :-)

OK...I am off to pack up our church bagSSSSS, and marshall the troops for Sunday readiness!

We love and miss you all!

SERIOUSLY...

2009-07-19T10:24:00.002-05:00

So, I don't post for months at a time, and then in one day, I put up three...make that four...just wanted to let you know that there are several posts today...a couple of cute stories, and a "what's happening" post...

So...read on...

A bath...

2009-07-19T10:18:00.002-05:00

OK...so having shared a Maddie moment, Miles thinks that it is only fair to share a Emma moment...

On the day of Miles surgery, we left our girls with their bestest friends EVER...the Sypherts. Jill, the Syphert mom :-), related the following incident when we returned to pick up our little angels...

Apparently, Lily, the eldest of the Syphert-Maschger clan, had decided to play "survival", and had filled a large plastic bin in the backyard full of water. Jill, being the awesome parent she is, went out to conduct a "status" check into the play going on...to her horror she finds Emma completely naked. Conducting an IMMEDIATE investigation into WHY Emma had no clothes on, Jill learns that the plastic bin was a "tub"...because when you are playing "survival" you still need to take a bath...and Emma was getting ready for her bath!

When I first found out I was pregnant with Maddie, Miles proclaimed that he wanted children with personality, because then you have GREAT stories to tell...mission accomplished! :-)

A good mom...

2009-07-19T10:12:00.002-05:00

Totally forgot to share this little gem:

Miles surgery was at Bethesda, about 45 mins from our house. He had to return to Bethesda for a couple of follow-up appointments. Since we weren't sure about how long this would take, or traffic there and from, we brought the girl's portable DVD players (this is investment we made when we traveled all over the country last year...each girl has one...no fighting and hours of quiet!) The first day went off without a hitch, and we were sooo glad we had them because we got stuck on the inner loop of the beltway due to stupid construction! :-} However, Monday, I forgot to place the actual movies in the bag...brought the players, but NO movie...the following conversation occured:

MOM: I am sooo sorry girls, I forgot to pack the movies in the bag.
MADDIE (wailing, at the top of her lungs, for ALL to hear): But I thought you were a GOOD mom!

Guess not!

What a MONTH!!!!

2009-07-19T08:15:00.002-05:00

Honestly, not even sure where to begin...sooooooo much has been happening in the life of our little family...

Let's take it one member at a time:

Ellie - our little 6 MONTH OLD is now "crawling" - a combination of a couple of crawl "steps" followed by a few tummy scoots then a couple of crawl "steps" then scooting, etc. until she reaches her desired destination - which is usually some power cord, or piece of paper! :-) Yesterday, I put her down for her afternoon nap...after listening to her cry and cry and cry, I decided to go and check on her (we had to remove her bumper pad because she could pull it up and away from the sides of the crib and then she'd get trapped under it, or wrapped up in it - needless to say, often we have to go in and stick various limbs back into the crib!) believing that I'd be unsticking one of her limbs, I walked in to find her STANDING up!!!! SERIOUSLY!!!!! I did NOT place an order for this! I wanted her to lay quietly on the floor for the first 6 months...take another 6 to figure out crawling, and maybe another 6 to figure out how to walk...I was giving myself a good 18 months! :-) We have caught her several times over the last 24 hours pulling herself into a standing position...needless to say we have dropped the crib mattress lower, and are trying to adjust to the idea that our days of crawling are numbered! :-) To make matters even more fun...Ellie cut her first tooth last week, and cut her second tooth this week...AND has another tooth poised to cut...probably next week! :-) JEEEEZ!!! Anyone have any suggestions on how to slow down a little one who is soooo intent on growing up?

Miles had PRK last week (7/9)! It was a blessing...and a challenge...all rolled into one! The way this works, is that you submit a request for this surgery...the Navy completely pays for everything...then you are placed on a waiting list. Miles got a call around the first of July that it was his turn! The timing could not have been better. He is between commands, and so isn't even going into work...AND he isn't in school, where there would have been no way he would have been able to take the week off for recovery. By the time he starts school, all will be healed and well. HOWEVER, I must add a comment here...having known people who had LASIK, and witnessing the PRK surgery and recovery...if you have the option...go LASIK!!!!! The PRK recovery was BRUTAL! Miles was down and in pain for several days. We spent the first few days with all the lights off in the house, and the blinds closed. For the first three days, Miles seriously questioned whether it had been worth it...considering that if he had the choice to make over he would cheerfully wear glasses the rest of his life! :-) However, over a week has passed and all is well. He has made a complete recovery, and while his vision hasn't quite stabilized yet, he is seeing 20/40 and was told that given another week or two, that number will drop to 20/20 or even 20/15...not bad! I was really jealous, until I lived with him through the recovery...now when it's my turn...I am NOT doing PRK! :-)

The girls are enjoying an extended summer vacation from classes, because.....

WE ARE MOVING!

We got a call a couple of days before Miles surgery that we had FINALLY made it up the waiting list for larger quarters, and they had a nice, newer place ready for us! For those who don't already know, our new address will be: 8573 Barkley St. We are staying in Fort Meade, so everything else stays the same...

So, in my free time, I am packing up our little house (in which we have packed a TON of stuff!) and getting us ready to move ourselves next Saturday! (We have to move ourselves, because we are electing this move! Thank goodness for good friends who are sooo willing to help us!) I have been sooo grateful that Miles has finally recovered and is back on the "clock" helping out...goes sooo much faster when there are two!

That's it...let's sum up...standing, teething, surgery, move...Living the Dream! :-)

We love and miss you all!

These are the times...

2009-07-05T20:37:00.005-05:00

Greetings wonderful family and friends! Here we are once again to make an incredibly lame attempt to bring everyone the very best of life in the Maschger home...

First of all, I must encourage all of you to PLEASE make sure you view the little video tidbits we have posted below! They are well worth your time...at least we think so...even if you want to skip all this boring dialogue...give the girls a chance to put a smile on your face! We have a wonderful clip of Ellie playing with her favorite new toy! A clip of our 4th of July cake...a patriotic butterfly (one of the many perks of having little girls!) AND, Madelynn showcases some original artwork with a patriotic theme...all well worth the viewing! As a side note, pay attention to Emma in the butterfly clip...that's my Emma! :-)

How are the Maschgers doing? Well, we are doing the very best we possibly can!

Miles checked out of his command this week, completing our second tour. The following day, he checked into his new command at NDIC (National Defense Intelligence College). I think that he has some mixed feelings about this new assignment...excitement to be pursuing a degree full-time in a field he is interested in...and apprehension as he contemplates the insanity of completing all that he'll need to do to receive this Master's degree in one year! However, since orientation won't start until Aug. 17th, we are just going to focus on having him home, and savoring every moment...as I am pretty sure we won't see much of him in the next year. Following my inspirational 5K run in May, Miles has registered for a half-marathon in October. Yesterday, he took off and ran 13.5 miles...just to see if he could do it...no training, nada...some people make me sick! :-) Obviously, he completed the run in 2:11...not bad for NO training! :-)

Maddie and Emma are enjoying a break from school. We are taking a couple of weeks off this month, so that Mom can get ready for our next "term"! Our last week of school we did an art show with some friends who also home school, AND our girls did their very own archaeological dig! Maddie loved the digging part, and after she had found all the stuff we'd buried for her, she turned her attention to another corner of our yard, and has been digging up screws, bolts, nails, tees...Miles is a bit anxious that one day she'll dig up some unexploded ordinance! :-) (Althought that would be a good reason to have to move!) Here are a couple of great shots...

Eva shows off her picture of a cat at the park Maddie and others enjoy the art show! Maddie and Emma being archaeologists!

That's about all I can get to tonight....the hour is getting late, and I think I'll try to catch a few winks before Ellie requires a midnight snack!

Love you all!

ENJOY!!!!

2009-07-05T20:30:00.000-05:00

Make a Smilebox postcard

And the answer is...

2009-07-05T19:39:00.001-05:00

Here it is...

Emma, Ellie, and Maddie!

Good job those of you who guessed correctly, I'll be in contact with you to help me label some other pictures! :-)

Stay tuned - I have some awesome video and pics...

How well do you know the Maschger girls?

2009-06-28T20:26:00.006-05:00

POP QUIZ! I am posting one picture of each girl...one picture PER girl. You tell me who you think is who?

Picture #1: Maddie? Emma? Ellie?

Picture #2: Maddie? Emma? Ellie?

Picture #3: Maddie? Emma? Ellie?

Just wanted to share! Love you all! :-)

My Hero!

2009-06-14T19:39:00.003-05:00

Jill Syphert, the Taylor Family, and the Maschgers...all completed the 10K!!! WHOO HOO!!!...or in Army speak...HOOAH!

There he is...my hero! This past Saturday was the Hooah! run (it's an Army thing). It was advertised as a run with a 5K and 10K option. I had decided to run the 5K, and felt pretty confident that I could do so without re-injuring myself. Our triple jogging stroller had come in the mail a couple of weeks ago, and Miles was excited to enter himself with the 133lb handicap! Upon arrival, we learned that the race had been advertised incorrectly, and was in fact a 10K only. Because I don't always do the smart thing, I signed up to run. About 1 mile into the race, in almost last place, I realized that I was FAR from ready to run a 10K...Miles was itching to run something a bit faster than my shuffle walk-run...so I let him go, and I climbed into the trail vehicle. Miles took off, seemingly oblivious to the 133lbs he was pushing in front of him. I was able to catch a ride to the finish line, and be there when Miles crossed...his total time 1:02!!! Pretty amazing, considering that he spent the first 15 minutes walking along with me! :-) The girls had a BLAST! Ellie slept, and the girls apparently peppered Miles with questions about the scenery that was flying past them! :-) Needless to say, Miles is hooked...and I have decided that I am going to train with the stroller during my short runs during the week, and then I'll let Miles push it in the races...I figure I'll be pretty invincible! :-)

In other news, Miles had his Farewell party this week. There was a picnic at Andrews AFB, and the girls favorite part was seeing where the president's plane lives! :-) He begins checking out of his command on Monday, and by the 1st of July we will be done with our second tour! Miles isn't going to check into the school until the 15th of July, so we are looking forward to taking some time to hand out as a family, since once school starts there will be none of that! :-)

The girls are doing really well. Maddie stunned us all last Monday night when she read "Go, Dog, Go" to the family during FHE! We had decided to have a reading party, where each member of the family would select a book to read to the family...the rule, you had to read what you picked. Emma quickly selected the only book she can read, "Mat" from the BOB book series, and Maddie came back to the circle with "Go, Dog, Go!" In one of my weaker "Mom" moments, I pointed out that she would have to read that book, I wasn't going to read it, and maybe she should pick something she could read...truly a low moment for me! Maddie declared, "I can read this book!" Miles and I exchanged glances, and rolled our eyes, and prepared to deal with the drama that would ensue when she realized she really couldn't read the book...ahhhhh...we parents always know what is best! :-( Maddie plops down on the floor, opens the book, and read the whole thing, only needing help on a couple of words! I was completely blown away!!!! I had no idea she knew so many words, and that she had such confidence in her abilities...I knew that she was progressing, and we had just completed our "A" book in school...BUT...this completely surpassed it all! I had read the book to her before, but it was a recent library loan, and so I'd only read it a couple of times...it truly was a moving moment! :-)

Emma decided that she wanted to do school again. Since Emma just turned 4, Miles and I have decided that we aren't going to force the school issue on Emma until she is ready. About every couple of weeks, she sparks an interest, and we do a little school, and then her attention wavers, and she is off on something else. This week, she stuck with full lessons for all four days of school...I was really proud of her!

Ellie is growing like a weed...and she is incredibly mobile...which I am NOT at all excited about! I am a little miffed that I didn't get more time with the sedentary child. As a first time parent you can hardly wait for your child to reach those movement milestones...Maddie walked at 9 months, and Miles and I just KNEW that we had the smartest child of all time! :-) When Emma didn't walk until 15 months, I was soooo relieved, and would have been willing to carry her for another year more if she wanted! :-) To have my 5 month old scooting all over the place...just wearies me...I wasn't ready...that's the essence of my drama...I just wasn't ready to deal with the mobility issue...SIGH! She is most decidedly a Momma's girl, and won't have anything to do with formula, or vegetables! :-) We started her on solids a couple of weeks ago, and made the horrific mistake of making the cereal with formula...honestly, genuine gag reflex! :-) However, make the cereal with water, and she downs the bowl! Now, try throwing in some veggies with the cereal...yep...the gag reflex back! Applesauce is the only way to go! :-) She's proving that she knows what she wants, and though she may appear to be a laid back child, she has plenty of personality to make everyday an adventure! :-)

That's about it from here...

We love you all!

Fishing, ticks, ice packs, and other adventures...

2009-05-31T08:31:00.006-05:00

Am I on a roll? Three posts in one week...could we be on the way back into blog-dom? Only time will tell...

So, probably the best part of this week was the celebration of Miles' birthday on Saturday. Miles decided that what he wanted for his birthday was fishing equipment. A fairly normal male request. However, I found myself falling in love with him all over again when he also requested that his Father's Day money be spent on fishing equipment for his girls, because he wanted to take them fishing! Seriously, did I marry the best man in the entire universe, or what? :-) So, we went to Bass Pro Shop on Thursday and outfitted the family in rods and reels, bait and tackle...even included a couple of Bass Pro Shop hats for the girls to wear when they fish with their Daddy.

Saturday morning, Miles birthday, we headed out to Burba lake...which is here on base...as we were pretty certain that the thrill of fishing would wear off quickly and there are parks, etc. to occupy the girls. The girls were so excited, and were careful students as Miles instructed them how to cast their tiny Disney Princess rods. They spent several minutes practicing before Dad decided it was time to actually attach some hooks, and a....GASP...WORM! Maddie was incredibly intrigued about this part of fishing...Emma, surprisingly, could have cared less...she just wanted to catch a fish. Both girls spent a good hour casting, and reeling in...both Miles and I were amazed at how well they took to fishing, and how patient they were. Emma caught the first fish of the day, but Maddie was quick to follow. After an hour, both girls wanted to go back to practicing their casting (their rods came with a crown that you tie onto the line so that they can practice the cast...they loved it!) Miles picked up his brand-new rod, and baited it, and eagerly threw back his arm to cast, and let her rip...

What happened was irony in its finest moment...not entirely familiar with the new reel and all the intricacies of its design...his line raced out...the hook hit the water, but the line kept spinning, getting all tangled and mangled inside his reel. He had to pull the line in by hand, to discover that he had caught a HUGE clump of lake grass! :-) So, here it was his first cast with his new rod on his birthday...and we were done. We packed up, and came home... Eventually, Miles just had to cut through the tangle, and start all over again...so sad! :-)

Upon our arrival home, the girls and I decorated the house for the party while Miles drowned his disappoint over his first fishing trip in the shower. Miles had requested an ice cream cake for his birthday...so I had purchased one the night before. There it sat in our freezer...no big deal...except that we lost power Friday night at 9:30pm, and it didn't come back on until 5:00mm (one of the perks of living in the crappiest military housing of all time!). Needless to say the cake appeared to have escaped unscathed...but cutting into the cake, and subsequently trying to eat the cake proved that the cake was a tragic victim of the power outage.

So, let's recap Miles birthday sooo far...he has messed up his brand-new reel, and had to eat a most disgusting ice cream cake. It can only get better, right?

Wrong! Unfortunately for Miles, we needed to make our monthly commissary run. So, Miles spent the rest of the day at the commissary, unloading the car, and putting away all of our groceries! Poor Miles!

I took pity on him, and once the girls were in bed, I sent him back to the lake to fish until dark. By the time he got home, I had a steak dinner going, with strawberry shortcake for dessert (his favorite!)! He'll tell you that what made the day awesome, was spending the morning helping his girls catch fish, and that he can't wait to take them again! Seriously...the best man ever! :-)

Ice Packs? Summed up...over training! I stepped onto the treadmill Tuesday night to start training for the 10K in 3 weeks, and off I went. About 10 minutes in my knees started to hurt...but I kept going, figuring that I just needed to stretch out a bit. By the 15 minute mark, I was supporting all of my weight with my arms holding onto the bars of the treadmill...it hurt too much to run. Miles caught me in the act, and began interrogating me, suggesting that I should stop if it hurt that bad. NO WAY!!!!! I wasn't going to make it to the 10K if I stopped...I had to keep pushing, my body would catch up! Needless to say, by the 25 minute mark, Miles won, and I stopped the treadmill...by Wednesday I could barely bend my knees they were so swollen. Miles brought home ice and ibuprofen, and I have been recovering ever since. I am mobile now, and only need the ice at the end of the day...so I am thinking that I will be back at the training this week. However, my goal of hitting that 10K in two weeks has been modified. SIGH!

We got our jogging stroller this week, and Miles took it for a spin with all three girls. He is a little nervous about the prospect of making it through a 5K in a couple of weeks...it is ALOT of weight to push while running...a little over 120lbs! :-) Training for potential handcart trek? :-) Anyway, it looks like the Maschger family will compete in the 5K on June 13th...

By the way, my final time for my first 5K was 44:43! Less than 45!

Real quick...because Ellie is waking up. Yesterday, after our adventures at the lake, we came home and bathed all the girls...wash off bug spray, etc. Miles took the girls upstairs to the tub, and I opted to bathe Ellie downstairs. I undressed my littlest one, and as I picked her up to begin bathing I found a black speck on her back. Thinking that it was dirt, etc. I brushed my hand across it...and it didn't budge. Closer inspection revealed that it was in fact a tick! Freak me out! How does a tick get on my baby...I sprayed her down...what the heck!!!!! I race her upstairs to show Miles, who thinks I am overreacting, and that it is a piece of stubborn dirt, etc. However, his inspection comes to the same conclusion, our Ellie has a tick. What to do? Well, we did the one thing you are NOT supposed to do...I grabbed the tweezers and very gently started to tug on the tick...it came away with the minimal amount of tug, and Ellie didn't squirm or cry or give any indication of any discomfort...once removed, I couldn't even tell where it had been, there was no mark, nothing... Of course, since Miles just had a co-worker out for Lyme disease, we are watching for symptoms...because that is just who we are!

All right, love to go on...but I have some quarreling girls to deal with, an infant to save from her crib, and a family to get ready for church...I'm swamped! :-) Hopefully, there will be more later...

Love you all!

Miles Birthday Wish Come True...

2009-05-30T12:01:00.001-05:00

Make a Smilebox slideshow

That list...

2009-05-25T07:56:00.003-05:00

Once upon a time...a long time ago...I created one of those "lists". The list that contains all the things you want to do before you pass from this life into the next. Anyone else have one? I have added to it over time, and have even deleted a few things over time as I am continually evolving into the person I hope I am supposed to be...ANYWAY...

One of the items on that list contains "running" goals. Run a race. There have been sooo many times in my life that I have tried to muster up the will to work on that item...my major roadblock?...I HATE running! :-) I mean I genuinely HATE to run...the sweating, the pounding of feet on pavement, the gasping for breath...HATE it! Why put it on my list? Well, running is something that I "can't" do, and I like to tackle things I "can't" do and prove to myself that I can in fact do anything I want to do! It's just who I am! Besides, it is healthy, and no matter where you are in the world, you can always put on a pair of shoes and go for a run...

Last Thursday, Miles came home with a flyer he had picked up from the PX advertising the 2009 Runners Series here on Fort Meade. Every month through December there is a 5K run here on base. Miles, knowing my "list", wants to know if I am interested? If not, then he'll run them (because he is a gifted runner! seriously!), but if I want to run them, he'll stay back with the kids! The first run, May 23rd, just a little over a week away. Hmmmmmm...I'll think about it!

The next day my good friend Jill came over for our weekly sanity check (that's were our kids play together and we get some adult conversation!) and I mention the series to her. Jill got all excited...just what she had been looking for...she totally wants to do it...and we should do it together...on Saturday of next week! Let me flesh out some details for you, so that you'll appreciate the rest of the story. I delivered Ellie on Jan 9th of this year, Jill delivered her 4th daughter, Clara, just one week later. So, both in a similar boat. About 3-4 weeks ago, Jill had started going back to the gym, and was slowing working her way back to post-partum fitness :-)!!! Me? NADA!!

Jill goes home that Friday night, and pushes herself through 3.2 miles, because she is all excited because we are going to do this race! She writes me an email after completing her run, and she is a bit less excited now that she's put in the miles, and she is all sweaty.

So, here I am. I have to make good on my end...Jill's put forth the first foot, and being her friend, I need to step up and take the next step...so Saturday night (the Saturday before the race) I step onto our treadmill, take a deep breath and turn it on. That first run was BRUTAL! I would run for 1 minute and then walk for 2 minutes, and even at that easy pace I was ready to pass out after 43 minutes, and I had only gone 2.5 miles! WHAT WAS I THINKING!!!!!!!!!!!

OK...this drama has already played out waay to long. Tuesday I managed to convince myself to get back on the treadmill, and pushed my speed up a bit, still the run 1 min and walk 2 mins...but in 43 mins I had completed 2.75 miles, AND I then walked for another 15 minutes to complete the 3.2 miles. Thursday, Jill and I went and checked out the course. I did my run/walk and completed the course...the full 3.2 miles in 52 minutes! Doing the math, I realize that I am slowly shaving down my time, and Jill suggests our goal for Saturday should be to complete the race in 45 minutes. I said I'd think about it.

So, Saturday morning dawns bright and early...like 5:45 early (because I have to get up and pump breastmilk, because Ellie won't take formula, and Miles has to have something to feed her..plus I figured it might make for a more comfortable run :-)!!) I pick up Jill and we head to registration, where I tell her that I am going to try to run in 50 minutes, beating our time by two minutes...I think that trying to do it in 45 might be a bit tooo ambitous! The next thing I know I am there at the start line with a number pinned to my shirt, and the gun sounds...

Instead of starting out at with a warm-up walk, I get all caught up in everyone taking off at a run, so I start my "shuffle" :-)...before we have gone a 100 yards I am the last runner, I know that because the trail car is right behind me...I turn to Jill, who is sticking with me even though she could've taken off, because she is that best friend who sticks with you!...and say, "Let's forget it! What were we thinking? I can't do this! Let's just drop out!" I am embarrassed to say that I was completely serious...Jill, however, thought I was joking, and she laughed and kept going. So, I kept going...kept doing my run/walk thing. By the first mile the trail car wasn't right behind me anymore as we actually passed someone! :-) We just kept plodding along with our run/walk.

As we approached the final hill going UP to the finish line (who plans a race that way?) I told Jill I was going to run all the way to the finish line...I knew Miles and the girls would be waiting. So, off we went...we got to the top of the hill, which I thought was the finish line, to see that we still had a couple hundred yards to go, and I broke..."I have to stop" I gasp, and slow to a walk. I take a couple of steps, and then I see the clock...we are at 43:45...if I can get the last little bit in under a minute than we'd meet Jill's goal...and Jill had been sooo awesome nursing me through the mental battle this race had been, deserved to meet her goal...so I mustered up my will power, and started to run again. As I checked the clock, I see my two little girls running toward me! Miles had turned them loose to run with Mommy across the finish line...and of course that gave me the boost I needed! (Of course, my girls had worn their flip flops, so their run was a bit hindered, and Emma actually lost her shoes, and I just ran right by her...I had to apologize later with lots of hugs and kisses...she got rescued by another runner who'd already completed the race, and they carried her back...which she loved:-)!!!!) We completed the race in 44:something...I didn't see the exact seconds...but I know it was NOT at 45 yet! WHOOO HOOO! I look up to see my sweet husband approaching me with Ellie strapped to his chest in the snugglie, holding a dozen roses...and realize, once again, that I am married to the greatest man ever! and I am sooo blessed to be a part of his life! Seriously, not only was he there at the finish line, but he was there with all the kids AND a dozen roses! :-)

It was quite the experience, and I am amazed at what I was able to accomplish with the support of my husband and my good friend...anything is possible! In fact, we are going to take on the 10K in 3 weeks :-) Not only that, but Miles and I purchased a 3-seater jogging stroller...so on June 13th he is going to run the 10K with me! The girls are all excited about running now, and right now Miles has them out running around Burba lake...we have told the girls that if they work hard we'll buy them some running shoes (not Wal-Mart shoes!) and maybe let them run one of the 5Ks toward the end of the year, and they are soooo excited!

Here is a picture after the race...the Ft. Meade Relief Society put in quite an appearance! :-)

(For all you Lemmons out there that might actually be reading this post...that shirt I am wearing? That is the Aspen Grove shirt...because I still have mine! :-) Jealous?)

There is soo much more to report, but I'll let you get back to your lives...keep you coming back for more!

One real quick gem, last week we had ham for dinner. As Miles was serving it up, he made some pithy remark about "here's Wilbur" or "Oink, Oink" or something like that...something pig related! :-) Maddie was a bit confused by this pig reference...
MADDIE: Why did he do that?
MOM: Well, because ham comes from pigs.
MADDIE: WHAT? Ham comes from pigs!
MOM: Yep.
MADDIE: (light bulb going on over her head!)OH! So when a pig poops it is ham?

Hope that doesn't turn you off of ham for the rest of your life...but we wanted to share the laugh! :-)

OK...back to work! Love you!

Happy Easter!

2009-04-14T13:31:00.002-05:00

Make a Smilebox greeting

Ellie's Blessing Day!

2009-03-03T18:30:00.001-05:00

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Happy Birthday!

2009-02-21T20:28:00.001-05:00

Make a Smilebox postcard

You ask...we deliver!

2009-02-18T20:17:00.000-05:00

Make a Smilebox photobook

Our budding star...

2009-02-18T19:36:00.003-05:00

A few items worth mentioning:

-You might think that there is a "Guitar Hero" influence here. NOPE! Don't have Guitar Hero in our house. Perhaps too much MTV exposure? NOPE!!! This entire performance is ALL Maddie!

-The title of this song is "The Power of My Rock", a Madelynn original!

-Feel free to watch again and again and again...we sure have! :-)

Absence makes the heart grow fonder?

2009-02-17T15:09:00.002-05:00

Has it worked? I am wondering if all of our wonderful readers have given up on us, as we have all but dropped out of the "blogging" world of late. I would like to think that this marks our long awaited return, and we will from now on fill our space with update after update...however...:-)

We are all adjusting to life with Ellie quite well. Maddie and Emma LOVE their little sister, and it is a constant challenge to keep their enthusiasm within "appropriate" boundaries. We have had to establish numerous boundaries, because if Ellie is awake, she is surrounded by her adoring sisters :-) I love it! It is a whole new dimension of parenting, adding in older siblings. When our Emma came, Maddie was only 16 months old, and was completely oblivious to her younger sister. Now, I have two of the greatest helpers EVER! They love to help, and really enjoy dressing their very own live doll! :-) Ellie is growing FAST! At her two week check up she had gained a pound and a half, and grown a whole inch! At 5 weeks she is stretching out her 0-3 month outfits, and I am thinking that I'll need to bust out the 3-6 month stuff by next week! :-)

And, as Eleanor basically sleeps through the night, I have absolutely NO complaints! Miles and I tell everyone that if we'd had Eleanor first, we'd have believed parenting was a breeze! Ellie is our little miracle in more ways than one! :-)

Miles is finally back at work. He was able to take a whole month off for paternity leave (sometimes the Navy really comes through for us!) He returned to work last Monday, and we are all adjusting to not having Daddy around all the time. He left this morning for a brief two-day trip, and the girls are going through major Daddy withdrawals! This is the first time Miles has left since March of last year...it has been really nice! He is very busy saving the world one memo at a time!

In our really BIG news our little Maddie has been pulled from her Special Ed. program! What a miracle we have witnessed in this beautiful little girls life! I met with the program coordinators last Monday, and as we went through each of her skill sets, we all marveled how she has progressed from significant delays and problems...to where she is today. Our little girl is functioning at age level, and in several areas is above and beyond! We are still working with her behavioral therapist, but she is home full-time now. The plan is that I'll continue working with her on her pre-academic skills at home, and in the fall she will be enrolled in kindergarten. How awesome is that?!!!!

So, besides taking care of my beautiful 5 1/2 week old, and home schooling my 5 and almost 4 year old...I am really not doing much of anything...that's why I have LOTS of time to update the blog! :-)

OH! I know what else we've managed to do this last week...Miles and I have been doing our part to stimulate the economy by pumping most of our tax refund into various awesome purchases! Most of it went to curriculum materials for "schooling" the girls...however, we did splurge a bit and bought ourselves a new camera, and a Wii FIT! FINALLY! The best thing we did with our $$ was paid off the balance on our Honda! WHOPEE!! We own our Civic...and it is only 4 years old! I was soo excited, because our car just became an asset! :-)

So, Ellie is up, and that would mark the end of "free-time"!

Love you all!

Promised Pictures

2009-01-10T18:21:00.001-05:00

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Happy Birthday Nana!

2009-01-06T15:35:00.001-05:00

Make a Smilebox greeting

Christmas 2008!

2008-12-26T08:19:00.000-05:00

Make a Smilebox slideshow

We have news...BIG NEWS!!!

2008-12-07T17:12:00.002-05:00

Not the baby kind...sorry, you'll have to stay tuned for that one! :-)

Our BIG NEWS is that a couple of weeks ago - that's called being on the ball - Miles was accepted to the Master's degree program at the National Defense Intelligence College. What does that mean to all you civies? (That's military talk for civilian) It means that the Navy is going to PAY Miles to get his Master's degree...AND...the Navy is going to pay for the degree itself! :-) Not only that...but it also means that our little family will be staying on in the DC area until Miles graduates in August 2010! YIPEE! So, let me sum up...basically, my incredibly hard-working and intelligent husband is going to get to be a full-time student, and in just under 2 years he'll have his very own Master's degree!

In other news...

We have finally finished the "baby's room". This is such a HUGE step for Miles and I, not only because we obviously will be needing the space soon...but because for our entire married life we have always had that one room...a space that had only one use, to hide everything we couldn't find a place for. The room that ALWAYS had the door closed...anyone else have a space like this? Anyway, for the almost 3 years we've lived in this house, we have had an entire bedroom devoted to WHATEVER...junk, papers, books, clothes, old computer equipment, you name it! Over the last month Miles and I have spent pretty much any free moment we have (and let's be honest...as expecting parents of a 5 and 3 yr old...there is LOTS of free time!) cleaning out that room, throwing out stuff, giving away stuff, organizing what is left. Last night, we added the finishing touches...sheets on the guest bed, sheets on the crib, baby clothes hung in the closet...yep, it is now LIVABLE space! Over the last 24 hours, Miles and I have found ourselves drawn to the room...just to sit and admire the floor (which hasn't been seen since late 2006)! :-)

Anyway, good thing that we have that "nursery" all done, because our little princess to be is quickly approaching her big debut! I am currently heading to the hospital every Monday for ultrasounds, and non-stress tests...then every Thursday I head back to the hospital for another non-stress test. Then there are the doctor's appointments...spending ALOT of my time running around from babysitters to doctors and back again. According to the first ultrasound (two weeks ago), our little one was already about twice as big as she should be... SO...stay tuned, we are all pretty convinced that she'll make an EARLY appearance, and I'm hoping for sometime around Christmas! :-)

OK...I think that's about it from here...so until next time!

We love and miss you all!

Broken Robot, Part 2

2008-11-12T08:44:00.002-05:00

Here is Emma's "turn"!

Broken Robot

2008-11-12T08:27:00.003-05:00

Another game of my father's...one that he played with us quite often. The game of, "Broken Robot". The "robot" lies broken on the floor, with legs and arms sticking straight up. The object is to get all the limbs to the floor...sounds simple. However, the "robot" is BROKEN...and so while you are in the process of lowering one limb, another shoots up...sometimes you get legs and arms down, and the head pops up. Anyway, hours can be spent trying to get the robot completely flat on the floor. The only way my siblings and I ever completely defeated the robot, was when we worked together, were much older, and able to drape our bodies across the robot effectively pinning him to the ground.

In this clip, Madelynn creates an entirely new solution to the problem....ENJOY! :-)

Star Wars Influence

2008-11-10T08:16:00.003-05:00

For those of you who know anything about the family I grew up in, we are HUGE Star Wars fans! Fortunately, I married another Star Wars fan, and together we have endeavored to bring up our children in the ways of Star Wars. In fact, I have posted several posts with some classic Star Wars stories, and pictures drawn by Maddie. However, this video takes the cake. One afternoon, after watching a Star Wars movie...I shooed the girls outside to play (trying NOT to raise COMPLETE couch potatoes!) About 5 minutes later, I realize that there are unusual sounds floating in from the backyard. I went to the back door to investigate, and what to my eyes should appear but my two little girls playing Star Wars. Enjoy...

How to play "Volcano"

2008-11-10T08:04:00.003-05:00

One of the many games my father played with us when I was a little one, was a game called, "Volcano". I have, of course, passed this wonderful experience on to my little girls. A couple of months ago, the girls were asking to play "volcano", and I had to explain that I couldn't play anymore because the baby in my tummy presented a bit of an impediment. So, not to be thwarted, they turned to their father and begged to play "volcano". Miles, of course, quickly agreed...however, Maddie would not start play until she had showed her father how to play. So, here are Emma and Maddie "teaching" Dad how to play the timeless classic, "Volcano"! (Enjoy Papa!!!)

Maddie's B-day

2008-10-28T08:23:00.001-05:00

"Grease" Maschger-style!

2008-10-28T06:55:00.002-05:00

Afraid of rain...

2008-10-28T06:53:00.002-05:00

Here is one courtesy of Emma:

It rained through most of the night last night. Emma woke up this morning, and informed me that the picture of Jesus on her wall helped her not be afraid of the rain.

Simple faith, an inspiration to us all!

Lizards and grasshoppers...

2008-10-27T19:35:00.002-05:00

A memorable Maddie moment:

This afternoon, I was downstairs on the computer, and the girls were upstairs playing. By "playing" I mean an even mix of laughter, screaming and tears. After one such bout, Madelynn appears at my side with her stuffed lizard wrapped in a couple of pieces of cloth. She informed me that Emma had stepped on her lizard, and that the said lizard was now injured. Being a great Mom, I immediately and GENTLY took the lizard from her arms, and proceeded to examine this poor creature. After a thorough exam, I informed Maddie that all was well, but that she should probably keep the lizard wrapped up for another day, and let him rest. She took the lizard from me, and agreed to take good care of it until their appointment with the doctor tomorrow morning at 8am. She disappeared upstairs, and I returned to the computer.

About 3 minutes later, Madelynn returned with lizard in hand, for their appointment (apparently I was the doctor). I gave the lizard another examination, and proclaimed him completely recovered. Maddie then let me know that the lizard's tongue was also broken, so that he couldn't catch bugs anymore. I told her that I would recommend she squish some bugs and feed her lizard until his tongue was better. Maddie replied, "OH! Great idea! He loves bug pie! I will make him some bug pie!" Off she went....

About 10 minutes later, she again appears at my side, with the lizard again wrapped from head to tail in cloth. She explained that while she was making the bug pie some grasshoppers jumped on her lizard, and they hurt him. Trying to contain the laughter, I remarked that perhaps she should not have used such mean grasshoppers. Maddie quickly replied, "Oh, they weren't mean grasshoppers, they are nice grasshoppers...but they had pointy toes." How I love the imagination on this kid! :-) I, of course, administered to the poor lizard, and sent her off once again.

The moral of the story, watch out for grasshoppers with pointy toes...because while they are nice, they apparently LOVE to jump on your back, and the results can be disastrous...just ask Maddie's lizard! :-)

Times that fly...

2008-10-14T19:59:00.002-05:00

I realize that it has been another terribly long time since our last post. Of all, I think I am the saddest about this fact, because when I am writing often, the little things are remembered and recorded to be treasured for ever after. Every day that flies by is filled with soo many moments that I try to catalog with a "I've got to write that down", and then the moment flies by, and it is gone. SIGH! This week I have spent some time reading some past journals of mine...from like age 16...when I actually wrote EVERY day. I am soooo grateful that I recorded what I did...while alot of it is "I LOVE so and so" or " Such and such is the end of existence as I know it"...all the drama of a 16 year old girl. As an adult, as a parent, I read through each entry with an entirely different set of eyes, and I am learning so much from my 16 year old self! Who knew? :-)

Anyway, the moral of the story? I must be better, because time is flying by in my little ones lives, and they are moments I won't ever get back...and who knows what they or their children, or their children's children will learn from all that is a day in the life of the Maschger family.

So, here is today:

Actually, a fairly typical morning...girls up and dressed, etc. Then we settled in to our "home school". We had a great morning in school, and towards the end I suddenly remembered that it was Tuesday...Romp n' Stomp! Our favorite Tuesday morning activity. Using this as a motivator, I quickly had the girls through the rest of their assignments, and we were on our way. As always, they had a blast, and Mom enjoyed the adult conversation! :-)

Back at home in time to feed Maddie lunch, and then get her on to the bus. Today however, Emma and I had to race back home and load up to go visiting teaching. We had a great time, and I had a great experience...I have the PERFECT VT companion! We have an ideal set up, she sets the appointments, and I do the lesson. This month, I completely flaked the whole thing, and when I realized...while fixing the girls' lunches...that I was VTing this afternoon, I also realized that I had not yet read the lesson. So, being the multi-tasking genius that I am, I quickly read through the lesson while fixing lunches and packing Maddie's backpack for school. However, as I buckled Emma in her carseat, I sent up a silent plea to my Father in Heaven...first to forgive me for being such a flake, and then for LOTS of help! The thought came to me that I should just ask the sisters we teach if they'd read the lesson. Well, duh? I do that anyways...all the time...and usually the answer is no. But, I thought it best to run with whatever I had...so crazy thought or not, I asked at each of our visits, "Did you get a chance to read the lesson, yet?" BOTH answered, "YES! And I loved..." and then they proceeded to share with us two completely different thoughts, that were both so inspiring! Lesson: ALWAYS follow the promptings of the Spirit!

Back at home, Miles and I switched into high gear to get our house clean because our good friends the Neweys were BRINGING us dinner! :-) Both girls pitched in and helped. Emma helped her Dad with the bathroom, and Maddie eagerly helped Mom vacuum. How I love our little ones when they are actively engaged in a good work...do you think Heavenly Father feels the same for each of us when we are so engaged?! :-) We finished early, and spent some time just hanging out. Maddie spent her time writing a book about Hansel and Gretel, which she gave to the Neweys...LUCKY! Emma and Mom played some Chutes and Ladders, and Memory, and Crazy Eights! (Dad was working on homework :-() The girls were in rare form for the dinner party...I am not sure Maddie stopped talking the ENTIRE time! For a child that took so long to talk to us, she seems to be intent on making up on lost time...she NEVER seems to stop! The girls were an eager audience for Bro. Newey's magic show, and we are not sure who was having more fun...the girls, or the rest of us watching the girls! :-) The magic show left quite the impression on Maddie, who in her personal prayers tonight asked Heavenly Father to bless Bro. Newey's magic, and to bless ALL boys to be magic! :-) How we love our children!

That's about it from here...Miles is working on oodles of homework, and I am trying to stay up until 10pm so I can take my meds. It is a tough job, but someone has to do it!

So here are a couple of gems from the last few weeks:

Emma is sitting at the table (in a dress...the only thing she'll wear) "writing" on a piece of paper. With tremendous pride, she cries out,
EMMA: Look Mom, I wrote an "H" all by my self!
MOM: WOW! Emma you are such a smarty-pants.
EMMA (with slight scowl): Actually, I am not a smarty-pants, I am a smarty-dress.

Madelynn, in tears, because Emma isn't sharing something that is Emma's...I think it was one of Emma's babies...Mind you, Maddie has several babies of her own, but had decided that she needed Emma's baby, and had come downstairs to complain that Emma wasn't "sharing"...
MADDIE: Emma won't share with me.
MOM: Well, you can't make Emma share with you.
MADDIE: Yes, I can. I have magic now!

Madelynn at the dinner table with a large plate of cookies in front of her. As a family, we are enjoying dessert...each has been given one cookie. Maddie has quickly INHALED hers:
MADDIE (reaching for a cookie on the plate): Can I have this cookie, say "Of course" (...that was all said in one breath)

Emma on being told it was time for bed...
EMMA: Bedtime? No way, I am still freakin' out! (...not sure over what, just seemed to be her phrase for the moment)

I have often been caught in these awesome parenting moments...those moments when you are sooo grateful that these wonderful little spirits are going to be yours forever. At these times, I often say to my girls, "I love you! Can I be your Mom forever and ever?" Generally, the answer is, "Yes". Last week, Maddie had this reply:
MADDIE: Yes! You can be my Mom even when I throw temper tantrums!

OK...here is one of my favorites of all time. In our house Maddie, Emma and Mom love to eat hot dogs...Dad does NOT! In fact, the smell makes him nauseous. Often, on a Saturday, the girls will ask for hot dogs for lunch, and I'll explain that we can only eat those on days when Daddy is at work, because he doesn't even like the smell. Well, a while back Miles was home in the middle of the week, and completely without thinking, I made Maddie a hot dog for lunch. Miles had been upstairs working on something, when he came downstairs Maddie took one look at him and started to cry! Through her tears she apologized for eating a hot dog, and frantically tried to cover Miles nose. It took quite a bit of consoling for Daddy to assure Maddie that he was OK, and that it was just fine for her to eat her hot dog even when Daddy was home. Such a compassionate little soul..

ANOTHER great Maddie moment - During the Saturday morning session of Conference, sometime after the children have lost all interest in paying attention, and Miles and I had stopped fighting it...I hear from down the hall the familiar voice of my Maddie saying a prayer. I immediately tune in to hear, "Heavenly Father, please bless me with strength, wisdom and power so I can understand them" She concluded her prayer, then came back into the room, climbed up next to me, and explained that she said a prayer to help her understand what they were saying...and then she focused in on conference (for about 10 more minutes)...but what a great moment! The other cute conference story...in the Saturday afternoon session there was a Primary choir that sang. For EACH song, our girls had to stand on either side of the TV and sing along with the children...they considered themselves a part of the choir! :-)

OK...I should probably give you your lives back. See? If I wrote more, then there wouldn't be sooo much to write!:-) Until next time...

We love and miss you all!

For my Mom and Dad! :-)

2008-09-28T21:15:00.000-05:00

Deep thoughts from a three year old

2008-09-05T19:29:00.003-05:00

Emma; our very smart three year old, asked us these questions this week.

Here are the topics. Discuss!!!

1) Do butterflies have teeth?
2) Do birds poop? and is it white?
3) What are chemicals? Is it cricket poop? (Followed by a long list of things that she knows that go poop. She wasn't on the list!!!! Argh!!!!)

Are you smarter than a three year old? Let us know.

Maddie today played doctor with all of dolls. Apparently, there was a very contagious disease going around today. All of the dolls were sick and in the hospital with Maddie as their doctor. Thankfully, she did not lose one patient. However, on her way to bed she kept on asking Tam to feel her forehead because she was sick too. She obviously has not learned to the pull sick card Monday morning before school, not friday afternoon after school, and I am not going to be the one to tell her.

Emma Avoiding Dinner

2008-09-03T20:36:00.002-05:00

Emma had decided that she did not want to eat her dinner, again. We fought her a lot to try and get her to eat her dinner. She spent a considerable amount time in time out, and then Tam and I decided that she should stay at the table until she finished her dinner. Our Emma is a very stubborn girl (she gets that from her mother). She was there for about 45 minutes to an hour. I decided to show her an increase in love went over to talk to her and this is what I found. I am not sure who "won" this battle of wills. She did stay at the table, but she ended up not having to finish her dinner because we put her to bed. Either way it was a very cute, memorable ending to a very rough dinner.

So... its been a while

2008-09-03T19:42:00.002-05:00

I realize that it has been a while since Tam and I last updated the blog. So I thought I would fill everyone in on what has been happening in our lives.

ABSOLUTELY NOTHING EXCITING!!!!! WHICH TAM AND I ARE OK WITH!!!!

However, I'll let you know some of the cute things that our girls have done lately.

"Mommy help me"

Emma is definitely is a girl, and she is into lotion. Tam and I were in the kitchen when suddenly Emma cries out panicked saying "Mommy help me". When Tam and I came into the room Emma had squirted too much lotion on her legs. She had apparently been trying to desperately "rub" in the excess, but had realized it wasn't working...It was like she was a greased watermelon on the fourth of July. That is when Tam realized it was the tanning lotion that she smeared all over her legs. We tried to squeegee her off. Yes, she does have a great tan, at least on her legs.

Another Emma gem...One of Emma's favorite things to do at the dinner table, is ask each of us what our favorite part of the day was...literally something she does EVERY night! Tonight, she started the rounds..."Maddie, what was your favorite part of the day?", etc. After making the rounds, she turns to the Brita water pitcher and says, "Water, what was your favorite part of the day?" and then she grabbed the empty pitcher and moved the top hatch open and closed (like it was "talking") while she said (in a high pitched voice) "My favorite part was when Daddy came home." Then she laughed and laughed and laughed! It is so nice to watch the little sense of humor blooming!

Safety violation...This is for all of you who have little ones, and have spent a wee bit of your time enjoying the fabulous programming on Disney Channel. Ever seen that wonderful little time filler called "Safety Patrol"? Well, Maddie has apparently latched onto this great concept, and often wanders around the house with a magnifying glass seeking out "safety violations"! A while ago at a dinner of burritos, Maddie glances at Tam's plate, and cries out, "Do you see a safety violation?" She then proceeds to sing the theme music, before she announces the problem...tonight's violation..."Mom, you don't have any salsa on your plate." :-)

All cuteness aside...

Maddie started school this week. She likes going to school. Tam has also begun doing school at home for the girls. They both really love to have school at home with mom.

Tam is definitely nesting, and I fully support it. She is working on organizing the kitchen. We have become IKEAified. This past weekend we went to IKEA and bought a lot of stuff to help us organize.

I have been really busy with work, and well that work stinks. Only 12 more years till I can retire from the Navy, and then get a job as a walmart greeter.

SO...Guess what?

2008-08-24T17:36:00.002-05:00

For those of you NOT aware, we are pregnant. (Thought I'd get that out there...just in case it catches anyone off-guard)

This Wednesday we went in for "THE" ultrasound. You know, the one where the primary purpose is listed on the insurance sheet "anatomy screen"...but really, for those who want to know, you can finally end weeks of debating, and guessing and KNOW the sex of the small one within. BOTH Miles and I are BIG advocates for "knowing"...and as it has been pointed out to us, it is still a "surprise" it just comes 20 weeks earlier! :-)

ANYWAY...am I killing you? We know.

The rest of the week was CRAZY! Miles continues to fight the good fight at work. I am getting a but tired of constantly writing..."work is brutal for Miles"...but it seriously has not seemed to let up FOREVER. Could this be "adulthood"? If so, we'd like a refund! Needless to say, he is working hard...is constantly exhausted, and gets to come home and take care of his "horror-mone" driven wife. Poor man...:-(

As for the girls and I, we kept ourselves busy with playdates, and rehearsals. Our ward had its annual Talent Show Friday night, and our little princesses participated! In a MASSIVE effort, one amazing sister managed to throw together a delightful little dance number...that involved 8-10 little girls (ages 3-6?) dressed up in their finest princess gowns! It literally stole the show...to this unbiased observer! I have to let you know that Maddie turned in quite the stellar performance...including LOTS of extra spins, singing, and hand waving at Dad. Emma did a wonderful job...followed the directions beautifully, and even remembered her part...which was jumping into a laundry basket and being pushed around the stage. It was awesome. We got some video, and once I work it over a bit...we'll post it! Well worth the watch!

In other news, Maddie is supposed to start school this week...despite the fact that I have heard nothing from her teacher, or from the bus companies with pick up times and places. She will be attending the ECI class again (a sort of "special education" preschool program). I think she is pretty conflicted with the whole approaching school thing...there is ALOT she likes about school...but she isn't real fond of the "work" part of school. So, I get alot of excitement, and a little bit of apprehension. Pretty normal.

Emma is excited, because Mommy has decided that Emma is LONG overdue for some "schooling" herself. Since my little 3-yr old is trying VERY hard to read...pointing out every word she sees between our house and wherever we may be headed...not to mention what she sees in the house. (You never realize how prevalent words are in our society, until you have a 3-yr old constantly asking "What does that say, Mom?") Anyway, I figure Maddie could benefit from some light academic reinforcement...so we are going to start school in the mornings! (Because I didn't have enough going on in my life!) :-)

Overall, I am doing quite well. I have GREAT days where I get TONS accomplished...nesting from sun-up to sun-down. Then, I have other days. However, everything seems to be great...the baby is doing well, all her anatomy checked out, and she is estimated to already weigh a whooping 9 ounces!

We have a TON of pics and videos to post...maybe I'll get to that this week :-) We love and miss you all!

The Maschgers - Miles, Tamara, Madelynn, Emma, and...?

Pirate Princess's

2008-08-03T16:06:00.003-05:00

I wish the camera's batteries didn't die, because I thought that it was funny. Our girls were invited to one of their friends birthday party's. The theme was a pirate party, and everyone was to come dressed up as a pirate. We did try to get them to dress up as something pirate themed. However, my girls weren't interested at all at being pirates. So instead they went as princesses, because they wear their princess dresses more than they wear their own clothes. So we said they were the damsels in distress. It was pretty cute to see the damsels in distress at a pirate party.

Other news! Tam's pregnancy is going well. The only real craving she has had is for Mexican food. We think that she is going to give birth to a little Mexican kid. I have been really busy at work, and trying to keep out of trouble.

What I am black!!! and other amusing stories

2008-07-29T20:21:00.003-05:00

Just thought that I would share some funny stories that happened today. This afternoon I was changing Emma's pull-up and she was "playing" the Wii with Papa and Aunt Kristie, when she saw a Mii that was black, and she suddenly exclaimed "What I am black!!??" Sometimes it is great to quote your kids.

Since Maddie is big girl she doesn't need any help going to potty. However, today after being a big girl she came out in all of her glory with a strip of toliet paper hanging like a tail from her derriere. Why didn't we have a camera... that would be the perfect picture to show her future fiance, which currently is Jamal.

Then tonight we were walking around the mall and just came out of the Disney store, when Emma in all of her excitement wanted to show Mommy her pretty "Belle" panties. Dropped her shorts right in the middle of the mall. The last time I did that I was arrested. Its an injustice.

Other than that Tam and I are enjoying have Nana, Papa, and Aunt Kristie here with us. They will be leaving tomorrow, so Tam and I will have to take care of ourselves again. Sometimes it stinks to be an adult.

That's time-out for everyone!!!

2008-07-27T17:34:00.002-05:00

Here is a picture of our lovely family. We finally had a moment of peace today.

P.S. They were both in time-out because they did not what to have clean-up time.

Its all sunshine and roses

2008-07-27T17:26:00.003-05:00

This past week has been good. We have had the pleasure of having Tam's mother, father, and sister with us this week. We also had my Sister, her husband, and her daughter here on Saturday. So it has been a great week with the family. Of course we were busy trying to keep everything else going too. I still had to go to work and deal with the fun of the Navy, and Tam isn't any less pregnant (this is a very very good thing).

Tam and I went to her doctor last week, and things are still going well. Her diabetes seems to be doing well, and we were able to hear the baby's heartbeat. Hearing the heartbeat is what makes it real for me. I really enjoy hearing the little whoosh-whoosh at 150 beats-per-minute.

Church was extra fun today. Both our girls decided that they did not want to go to church today. Maddie even tried to malinger, fiegning a fever. She kept on asking Tam to feel her forehead, and coughing a fake cough. However, today was a day where both Mom and I had lessons to teach. Not really a day we could skip. Emma made it difficult to get out the door, and Maddie had a half-hour long temper-tantrum once we got to church. I missed over half of the Sacrament meeting. Because I was either out in the car, foyer, or hallway with a screaming Maddie. She finally calmed down enough for us to attend the end of sacrament meeting. However, she would not go to primary. That is until she realized how boring Mom's and Dad's classes were. Then she decided she wanted to go to primary, and apparently (according to her primary teachers) was very good. Sometimes I just don't understand my children. But I love them!!!!!

Drumroll, please...

2008-07-22T08:29:00.001-05:00

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Dresses, kites, vacation and more!

2008-07-21T08:21:00.001-05:00

How our children grow...

2008-07-21T07:37:00.003-05:00

Enjoy this wonderful clip of Miles "watering" our girls...

Primary spotlight...

2008-07-19T15:47:00.004-05:00

SO, I was prepping to post several pictures from Miles re-enlistment yesterday, when I realized that I am woefully behind in the pics department. SO, in an effort to keep these entries as "in order" as possible...I better start where I left off. Here is Maddie doing a re-play of her Primary spotlight. We were given a piece of posterboard, and I let Maddie tell me what pictures she wanted to put on, and she did an excellent job decorating it. She did even better when she got up in front of the entire Primary, and told them all about herself! What is equally entertaining is how Emma insisted on having a turn...and so you get "Maddie's spotlight" by Emma! :-)Enjoy!

Where have the Maschgers gone?

2008-07-13T17:23:00.002-05:00

We are here. I realize that it has been insanely long since I have posted, and I apologize for our prolonged absence from the blogging scene. We have been so incredibly busy with vacation, and doctor's appointments, and general family craziness that carving out even a few moments to jot down the latest has apparently fallen pretty low on our priority list...I'll try harder! :-)

So...what is the latest from the Maschger clan?

Well, we survived the "vacation" of all vacations. It would require a novel of moderate size to relate all of our adventures...so let me sum up! :-) We began with a leak in the hydraulic system of our aircraft, delaying our flight about 8 hours. After such a promising start, you would think we could drop no lower...stay tuned. We spent the next week with Miles' family, and we had a GREAT time! The girls really enjoyed playing with their cousins, and hanging out with Grandma's day care...one of the great things about Grandma's house there is ALWAYS someone to play with and TONS of toys to play with. The girls especially enjoyed the large swing set outside, and spent alot of time in the backyard! After about a week, we made the drive down to Phoenix, AZ to visit Miles wonderful sister Alyssa and family. (We call that a trip-within-a-trip!) :-) It was fun to travel with Grandma and Grandpa, and meet a whole new set of cousins. While we were in Phoenix, we had the AWESOME opportunity to attend the beautiful sealing of two of our dearest friends. It was such a beautiful event, and we enjoyed reconnecting with old friends. Miles and I also took the opportunity of being able to escape "kid-free" and celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary. Lots happening in Phoenix...and all in 100+ degree heat. (TIP: summer is NOT the time to "enjoy" Phoenix) :-)

CUTE MADDIE STORY: Have to interrupt and share...Upon our arrival in Phoenix, Miles opens the door and lets Maddie out of the car. Maddie steps onto the sidewalk in front of the house, and stops. Miles says to her, "It's warm, huh?" Maddie looks up at Miles and says, "No, Dad, it is HOT!" :-)

However, we had a great time, and it came to an end way to soon. We drove back to Colorado Springs, and then just one day later boarded a plane to head home to Maryland. While our flight from Colorado Springs to Houston came off without a hitch, we got completely hosed in Houston. A major storm system moved in, and after delaying our flight for several hours, they finally had to cancel the flight...along with 33 other flights, and sent us all to one desk to reschedule! We truly have the BEST luck when flying! Anyway, about 3 hours later, we had booked a flight leaving the next morning...and we had two VERY hungry, and tired, and completely disoriented children. (By the time we left the next morning, Emma was crying because she wanted to stay at the airport!) We were very fortunate to book a room at the Marriott hotel that is actually a part of the airport (which was a bonus, because we had no car seats...as we had checked them) Not only was this hotel close, it was actually VERY quiet, and after a little room service, and a movie...our exhausted small ones drifted off to sleep. Fortunately our flight to Maryland the next day was fairly uneventful...Maddie was afraid the plane was going to leave us, so she had a complete meltdown as we got on the plane...and then Emma, suddenly decided during takeoff that she didn't want to sit next to Dad she wanted to sit next to Mom, and a massive temper tantrum followed. Miles and I were sooo relieved when no one asked us to remove ourselves from the plane! Lest you think our adventures are quite over...just a little morsel to wrap up our tale... Upon arrival in Baltimore, we discovered that while we, and our luggage had all made the trips...our car seats had not! SERIOUSLY! So, we had to wait while Miles filed a claim for our missing car seats, and the airline located some for us to borrow so we could get our children home. Needless to say by the time we crossed the threshold of our little home, we didn't leave for several days! :-)

We are now firmly back in the swing of things! I have been averaging about 2-3 doctor's appointments a week...but I am sooo grateful to have a doctor who is being so careful with everything! About a week before we left for vacation, I found out that I have diabetes...and have spent the last month and a half working through that drama. However, it seems that everything is coming together...and that is a relief. Everything else seems to be perfectly fine with the baby...I heard the hearbeat just last Friday, and it is beating strong at 160! :-) I have an ultrasound scheduled for Tuesday...so stay tuned for pictures...maybe! :-)

Miles is keeping busy with work. Probably enough said on that topic... He is re-enlisting this Friday, and we have very mixed feelings about it. By the time this enlistment is up he will have served 14 years, so we are making the Navy a career...a BIG step.

Other than that...not much else. I'm going to try and get some pictures up soon, but right now I need to go and clean the kitchen...and eat something! :-)

Love you all!

Disclaimer

2008-05-30T16:27:00.003-05:00

The following post represent the views of the speaker only and do not necessarily reflect the views of management. Anybody who knows Miles knows that he had to marry a woman twice as smart and twice as good looking so the kids could have half a chance. Its a good thing he married up.

--Maschger Family Management

To my husband!

2008-05-30T08:14:00.005-05:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

As this is Miles' 33rd b-day, I wanted to take the few minutes of quiet I have (Backyardigans are on!) and tell my sweet husband how much I love and appreciate him! I will be eternally grateful that this wonderful man was born just 33 short years ago today! There are so many things that I love and appreciate about Miles...to name a few:

1. His sense of humor - it was one of the very first things that attracted me to him. I love his wit, and his sarcasm, and the complete randomness of who he is...there is NEVER a dull moment! :-)
2. His integrity - it is such a remarkable quality to do the right thing, because it is the right thing - it brings me the greatest comfort to know that regardless he will always do the right thing!
3. His commitment to him family - I could not have married a better man, for he is completely committed to fulfilling his role in his family. He is an incredible father, who readily puts the needs of his children first and foremost! He is an awesome husband, who takes such good care of his slightly control-freak, neurotic wife! :-)

OK...so Backyardigans is over, thus closing my window of opportunity! Regardless,

Miles I love you! I love you more and more everyday...as crazy as I know that sounds...but it is true! I love that man that you are! I am soo grateful for every single experience and choice that you have made in your life because I know that each one created the righteous and wonderful man that you are today...the perfect man for me! Happy Birthday, my love! :-)

From the Maschgers...

2008-05-30T08:08:00.002-05:00

The BIG news here is that...it appears I am pregnant - AGAIN - remarkably! While we struggled with keeping this all hush hush given the miscarriage LAST MONTH, we decided to follow the counsel of Pres. Hinckley and let our faith exceed our fears! Besides, we can obviously use all the faith and prayers we can get...

We actually found out the 18th. I have already had TONS of lab work done, and LOTS more to come this coming week...however, at this point most everything is looking pretty good. I am fighting the nausea already...and we take that as a good sign. I have never been so excited to be sick to my stomach! :-)

We'll keep you posted as whatever develops! We love and miss and appreciate you all!

The Maschgers

Too long...

2008-05-18T19:26:00.005-05:00

Here are a couple of pictures of the girls in their "Easter/Conference/Mother's Day dresses" :-) I tried to take these about 3 seconds before we walked out the door, and obviously Emma was extremely upset with me...for what I don't know...but enjoy! :-)

Greetings! Remember us? We wanted to let you all know that we are still here...and doing well. There has been soo much going on in our little family over the last couple of weeks, yet, as always, when I sit at the computer to tell all, I can't remember a thing. Should I be concerned? :-) How about a break down by family member...

Emma has really blossomed over the last month. We are seeing a whole new dimension to our littlest one. While she is still 3 and continues to operate under the principle that the known universe does revolve around her and her needs...and woe to any who happen to be in her way! She has developed this incredible ability to analyze a situation, see a need and assess how to fill that need, and then...under her own power...fill that need. For example, last week we had finished dinner, and in one of my lazier moments, had left the table without clearing our plates. Miles and I were on the couch talking, and Maddie was upstairs playing. Suddenly I realized that there was something going on in the kitchen. I turned around to see my 3 year old clearing the LAST plate off the table. Our little one had come back to the table, and taken each plate...scrapped its contents into the trash (we don't have a garbage diposal :-( ) and then placed each dish in the sink...all without the slightest comment from us. In fact, it hadn't even registered what was going on until she was almost finished. Or, a couple of days ago, Maddie (who is still wearing a pull-up at night) was in the bathroom and called for some help. I left Emma downstairs, and headed up to help. After lending a hand, I turned around to find Emma standing in the bathroom door with Maddie's "big girl" panties in hand. On her own, she had realized that Maddie would need those, and had taken it upon herself to fill that need. Miles and I are in awe of this new dimension...now we must find a way to reconcile the "saint" with the "drama queen"! :-)

Maddie has had a difficult month. She has really felt the stress of the family as we have dealt with the miscarriage, and some issues at Miles' work. However, being aware of it, and how to deal with it are two very different things. Madelynn has struggled and we have seen some drastic regressions in her behaviors. However, after an excellent session with her behavioral therapist, we are very encouraged. We are re-instituting heavy structure...the picture schedules, etc...in the hopes that this will re-center her...and once re-centered the behaviors will recede. Another indication to the extreme intelligence of our little girl, she has apparently decided that writing your name from left to right is too boring...and will write her name right to left, perfectly flipping each letter. SIGH! The therapist was quick to point out that while this involves some crafty thought processes, as Maddie makes powerful associations that are extremely difficult to break down, it would be best if she understood that names are written left to right. :-) A bright, shiny moment in her month came last week. I was watching a friend's son, who is also autistic. At one point a misunderstanding sent this young man bolting out of the house...I, of course, went to the door to call him back in, and was not making any progress...when Maddie darted out of the house under my arm, walked right up to him and said, "It's ok. Calm down. Count to 10...calm down." He looked at her, calmed down and followed her right back into the house, where he sat next to her on the couch as they watched a movie. Not one single problem after that. Again, I am soo often taken back by the powerful spirits my little ones possess and I marvel as I watch those spirits march forward, grow and become who they are to be. It was an incredible moment to witness!

Miles is a very busy man. While we have really enjoyed having him home for the last few months, he has been putting in some extremely long days. He is completely addicted to "CrossFit", a new workout regime that is apparently all the rage. He, my NON-morning person husband, is getting up at 4:45 every morning to get down to Bollings AFB for the CrossFit class. If Miles is at home, chances are he is on the computer researching the numerous facets of CrossFit. At work, Miles found out recently that he is going to be taking on alot more responsibility...while he is waay excited to be stretching himself, there is a steep learning curve, and he is working hard to fill in the "gaps" in his experience! As the ward's mission leader, our ward missionaries are keeping him busy as well. In just the last two weeks, they have committed 4 investigators to baptism! It is sooo awesome to watch the Lord work...to magnify who and what we are...we have been truly blessed to be a part of this process, and are looking forward to a BIG baptism June 7th! As always, Miles continues to be an incredible husband and father...the girls favorite part of the day is when their Daddy comes home. They launch themselves out the front door, down the sidewalk and into his arms! :-) The first question they ask in the morning is, "Is Daddy at work today?" and when the answer is yes, their faces fall, and they say, "I miss my Daddy"! Me too! :-)

Me? Well, besides being a part of all that is my wonderful family, I am really looking forward to taking a vacation in 23 days! :-) Probably my biggest news would be that I finally went to the salon and had them chop a little over 12" from my hair! I LOVE IT!!!!!! I was able to donate the hair to "Wigs for Kids" which was awesome! Emma has told me on several occasions that she doesn't like my short hair, and Maddie hasn't stopped asking when can she get her hair cut short! :-) I had a wonderful Mother's Day last Sunday. My husband managed to surprise me with a gift (this is quite a hard thing for him to do, because I do the budget and I check our account pretty much every morning!) The wonderful man that he is, used money that he had to buy me "Veronica Mars, Season 1", as I am a bit of a Veronica junkie (thanks, Caryn and Crystal!) it was the perfect gift, and made even more special by his sacrifice of using "his" money! And while church meetings precluded any breakfast-in-bed scenario, he really worked hard to make it a wonderful day! :-) I truly married the best of men! :-) That's about it from here...

We love and miss you all! :-)

Salsa!

2008-05-07T10:03:00.003-05:00

Seriously, I LOVE my girls! Enjoy!

Look what I can do!

2008-04-23T20:10:00.002-05:00

So, I know I have posted these pictures before, but I almost feel creative...and I had to share! :-)

Make a photobook - it's easy!

The Happity-Haps

2008-04-20T20:50:00.000-05:00

Since Tam has been a little out of it this past week. I have decided to make a few changes around here. As you may of noticed I changed the format, included a random game (just in case the content of the blog bores you), and I am now adding a post. I have also instituted the “must have ice cream with every meal rule”. Oddly enough Tam doesn't let me do the grocery shopping on my own. I don't see want is wrong with ensuring we have plenty of cake, cookies, and ice cream. Who knows with a little more time what other changes might occur, but let's not get to crazy. I am just hoping that these changes stick before Tam realizes what is going on.

As was mentioned in an earlier post, this week has been really tough on all of us. It is amazing how quickly you become attached to a baby in the womb. We only knew of it for about 11 days, and we are feeling the loss no differently then if it was one of our other family members. However, everyday the sun rises and then sets, and each day it gets better. If there is one truism about life, is that life must go on. So tomorrow I will be back at work, Tam will be the perfect mother, and Maddie will go back to school.

Yesterday, was a very busy day. A friend of mine from work invited my girls to his 7 years-old daughter's birthday party at JumpZone. This is one of those places with the big blow-up slides and trampolines. I don't know what was more fun watching the girls get really excited and run and jump around on these things, or watching the three million other kids high on sugar and adrenaline. The screaming; ah, yes, I loved the screaming kids. I was reminded how much I love MY OWN KIDS. I lost Madelynn a couple times because I would turn my back to check on Emma, and Madelynn would run off to a new spot. Oh, and did I mentioned that Tam stayed at home to rest, so I was outnumbered.

Then we had a ward activity, a chili cook-off. Members bring their various types of chili to be judged. I have tasted the hottest chili I have ever tasted in my life. If I had any tape worms, I wouldn't anymore. They would have been burnt out of me. I think that chili that hot was created solely on dare. I ate it and cried like a little school girl. Ain't no shame in my game.

A fun game from the past

2008-04-20T10:56:00.001-05:00

An update...

2008-04-18T19:33:00.002-05:00

Tuesday morning I began to bleed heavily, and through the course of this week have miscarried.

It has been an incredibly emotional week for all of us. Miles and I have really struggled, and our sweet little Madelynn cried and cried when we told her there would be no baby. She offered us her money from her bank to "buy" back the baby. Emma brought me my pre-natal vitamins, which the girls called, "baby medicine" believing that that would make it all better. How we love our little girls!

We have been greatly blessed by an outpouring of love and support from our friends and family. How grateful we are for each of you and the wonderful examples that you are.

Miles command gave him most of the week off...without charging us any leave, and they sent us a beautiful flower arrangement. There are times when the Navy really comes through for us...and I am glad that one of those times was this week.

We are all relatively well, and I seem to be recovering quickly. We have drawn tremendous strength from our knowledge that all these things are known to our loving Father in Heaven. We know in whom we have placed our trust...all these things are in the Lord's hands, and we are willing to accept His will. We are sad, but we are ok.

Some news...

2008-04-12T19:05:00.002-05:00

For all our Maschger Musings readers...we have BIG news!

On April 4th, 2008 we learned that we are expecting number 3!!!!!!!!!!! FINALLY!!!!!! We are sooooooooooo very excited, as this has been a moment in the workings for at least the last 18 months! :-) As far as I can calculate, we are looking for a delivery sometime around December 11th. Madelynn is quite possibly the most excited out of all of us...she tells everyone she sees that her "mommy has a baby in her tummy"! I am really looking forward to the weeks and months ahead (especially since I haven't had any vomiting, yet!) as our little girls are a part of this process...hearing the heart beat, and feeling it move and kick...basically, we are one excited family! :-)

Love you all!

Trains, Kites and Cherry Blossoms

2008-04-12T18:43:00.011-05:00

On March 29, 2008 our little family FINALLY decided that it was time to venture down into DC for the Cherry Blossom Festival. As we have been here for two years, and only have one year left on this assignment...better late than never! :-) So, we recruited the Carter family, our good friends who live 8 whole doors down from us, and headed out! Anyway, here are a few pictures of our adventure!

Ready to go! That is Emma underneath the blanket...in her defense, it was a cold, blustery March day!

Emma, Madelynn and good friend, Atticus, on the Metro. There is magic in a train ride! :-)

Our original plan was to enjoy the cherry blossoms in full bloom...what a treat to arrive on the Mall during the Smithsonian's annual kite festival! There were hundreds of kites EVERYWHERE! To this day, if you ask Emma what she liked most about this day her answer is, "I liked the Spiderman kite!" :-)

WWII Memorial. This is the first time I had ever seen it with the fountains...it is truly impressive memorial that demands reverence and honor for this chapter in history. Miles and I were very moved...

Atticus, Maddie and Emma enjoy the beautiful day, and the trash in the Tidal Basin! :-)

The "pink trees", as our girls called them. It was a truly spectacular sight, and I am sooo glad that we finally made it! :-)

Is fashion sense genetic?

2008-03-23T19:55:00.002-05:00

How I truly LOVE my beautiful children, and the many ways that they are discovering their presence in this world...that they are a unique entity. Our Emma has a VERY STRONG personality (not saying which side that came from) and she ALWAYS knows what is best for her! While this offers some challenges, I have chosen NOT to fight her in the arena of fashion. I try very hard not to impose on her budding sense of self...and the result is this enchanting ensemble. We have a dress that was several sizes too small, pants (Mom did interfere with the notion of running around half-naked!) tights, flip-flops and a winter coat...BACKWARDS! This fetching outfit turned many heads at the commissary, and drew more than a few chuckles. It took me a good 20 minutes to get into the commissary, because her flip-flops kept sliding off her stocking covered feet! Seriously....I LOVE my kids!

Talking about fairies...

2008-03-17T20:11:00.003-05:00

What a marvelous thing our children are...ever keeping us on our toes!

Yesterday, during the sacrament, Miles leaned over and whispered into Maddie's ear, "Who do we think about during the sacrament?" Maddie replied, "Jesus. I am talking to Jesus right now, because I am telling him I want to be a fairy." Miles, of course, chuckled...leaned over and was in the process of relating this gem to me, when Maddie...very aware that we were talking about her...asks in a "whisper" (that's the quiet voice that can be heard several rows in all directions!) "Dad, do you want to be a fairy too?" Miles head snapped around, and he exclaimed (in an almost whisper) most emphatically, "Boys are NOT fairies!" At this point, I am using everything I have to not laugh right out loud...not sure what was more amusing, my daughter's desire to be a fairy, or my husband's obvious aversion to being a fairy. When Maddie capped off the conversation with, "Yes they are. There are boy fairies in Barbie Fairytopia." Hard to argue with logic like that!

On a spiritual side: Miles and I decided yesterday that since we get home from church around 3:30pm, we would forgo "quiet time" and opt for an earlier bedtime. This makes incredible sense when you are discussing...that, of course, dooms it to failure in it actual execution! :-) We were managing to keep Thing 1 and Thing 2 fairly happy until we sat down to dinner. I had made Chicken n' Dumplings, a meal the girls love. I placed a bowl of steamy goodness in front of each of my children...and they both promptly began to cry, and whine about how the "hate" this meal...they "hate" chicken...they "don't like" bread. Miles and I ate our meal, and our dessert to the melodious tones of our screaming, crying children. We reminded them that they would stay at the table until they ate their meager meals, or until it was time for bed. As it had been a long day for Miles and I as well as out little angels, bedtime came VERY early! Miles and I had had enough after about 20 minutes...and opted to end the agony for all parties involved. After clearing off the table (all the while there was much weeping and wailing) we transitioned straight to clean up and PJs. Honestly...such a scene you have never seen...there is nothing like the hungry, tired child...the drama! We managed to sniffle our way through scripture time, and Miles asked our Maddie to say family prayer. Our weeping 4 yr old says a very typical prayer, but as she says "Amen", she looks to me and says, "Mom, Heavenly Father is talking to my heart." Seizing this moment for all that it was, I asked, "And what is He saying?". She replies, "He told me to be kind, and that it will be OK...it will all be OK." And our little girl, who'd spent the last hour crying over anything and everything...had stopped crying, went easily to her bed, and fell quickly asleep. There is not a doubt in my mind that Heavenly Father was talking to Maddie's heart! What a blessing children are...what a wonderful reminder of how simple it really is...

What of Mom and Dad? Well, Miles ran his first ever 5K today. Miles is one of those annoying runner types who can not even look at a running shoe for a year, and then suddenly decide to put some on and run 20 miles (a bit exaggerated, but you get the picture). Anyway, he signed up for it Monday or Tuesday of last week, and then completely forgot he'd registered...it has been another CRAZY Navy week...so, my gifted, athletic husband...ran his first ever 5K. I should also note, that he was up at 4:45 this morning to attend a "Cross-Fit" work out at Bolling AFB...and then ran the 5K thing. Anyway, his time: 25:22

Mom? Well, I am working on what are quickly becoming "After-Conference" dresses...instead of Easter dresses. I chose this beautiful pattern...that is the hardest dress I have ever sewn...and it is a dress and pinafore set...so that means you sew 2 dresses for each child. AAAGGGHHH! Anyway...everybody gets Easter dresses...I am just doing it my way :-}

OK...it is late, and I have much to do! We love you all...and thanks sooo much for all of your comments! We love feeling we are connected to all the wonderful people that have and continue to bless our lives!

Emma and King Noah...

2008-03-15T18:24:00.002-05:00

Another priceless gem care of Emma:

As a family we are currently reading the Book of Mormon, and are in the book of Mosiah. We are in Chapter 11, which introduces wicked King Noah. As we have read, we have been talking about the "bad choices" that King Noah is making. This evening, at the conclusion of scripture time, Miles asked Emma to say family prayer. Emma starts her prayer very predictably, and then suddenly she begins telling Heavenly Father all about King Noah, and his bad choices, and asking Heavenly Father to help King Noah not make any more bad choices...or else "King Noah will have to go into time out!" One of those occasions that you just can't hold the laugh in...when you hear your 3-yr old put King Noah in time out! :-)

I love my family!

Check out my Slide Show!

2008-03-13T18:51:00.001-05:00

O-R-E-O

2008-03-13T18:22:00.002-05:00

In a wonderful development, Emma has decided that she is done with diapers this week (with a little encouragement from Mom!) I can not even begin to tell you how excited I am to be quickly approaching a time when I am diaper free...as diapers have been a part of my life for the last 4 1/2 years! To encourage our little Emma in her efforts, I took her to the commissary to pick out a treat...something we could reward her with each time she used the potty. I took her to the candy aisle, which also happens to have cookies. Emma spotted the Oreos, and would have nothing else. So, we bought the package of Oreos and brought them home. Within moments of our return, Emma successfully used the potty, so a reward was warranted. I grabbed the package and opened it, and handed a cookie to Emma, who promptly began cry. (Such is life with Emma!) I asked her what the problem was, and between the sobs she explained that SHE wanted to open the Oreos, SHE wanted to pick her cookie, and SHE wanted to hold the package. In the spirit of this being a reward, I placed her cookie back in the package, had her sit at the table, where I handed her the package to choose her own cookie. Emma, being the world's slowest eater, begins to lick her Oreo. Knowing that the consumption of this Oreo could take a good 20 mins, I headed upstairs and started cleaning our bathroom. About 10 minutes later, I head downstairs to check on the progress of Emma and her Oreo. To my amazement, Emma is holding a practically whole cookie in her hand. Instantly realizing that there is NO way this could be the original cookie, I open the Oreo package...YEP...our "little" angel had eaten 4 whole Oreo cookies. :-) Can we blame her? What would you do if someone sat you down at a table with an opened package of Oreos? :-)

As for the rest of us...Miles is back from Korea! He actually got to come home a couple of days early, which was a GREAT surprise! We are enjoying having him home...for as long as the Navy can spare him! :-( I am frantically working on this year's Easter dresses...because someone moved Easter into March!

We had a great trip down to DC last week. My Aunt Julie and her family were in town, and they let us come down and hang out with them and do the dash down the National Mall! :-) The girls had sooo much fun, that I have Maddie now asking...on almost a daily basis...if we can go to the museums today! I am not sure whether it was the museums she liked, or riding the entire day on Cousin Troy's shoulders! (Thanks again Troy!)

That's about if from here...enjoy the pictures! :-)

When Daddy Comes Home

2008-03-01T20:07:00.001-05:00

Loving the Navy...

2008-03-01T19:14:00.002-05:00

So, for those of you who are not blessed to live life in the military, allow me to share our last week with you...for those of you have have lived the "good" life, sit back and enjoy more of the same! :-)

About a month ago, my wonderful husband Miles, was tasked with making plans for a trip to Korea leaving Wednesday, Feb 27. He was not going on this trip, just making some of the arrangements. Being the man that he is, he dutifully endeavored to get the job done, however he was constantly thwarted by higher powers. This was extremely frustrating to him as he tried again and again to get stuff done, and he was repeatedly told to wait until this piece of info came in, or such and such happened. About two weeks ago, he was told that he would be going on this trip...then every other day he was told he was not going, he was going, he wasn't, he was, he wasn't, he was... (we call this riding the wave!) Anyway, last week everyone at the command all of a sudden became concerned because nothing was done...Miles spent several nights at work until 10 or 11pm. Monday morning, Miles was told (once again) that he was definitely going...then at 2:30pm, he was told that his orders had been canceled and that he was definitely NOT going.

Not to leave you hanging, but I have to also tell you what else was going on...despite Miles' commands constant complaints about his lack of communication, his maturity level, and his lack of leadership abilities (it has been an exciting couple of months for us :-( !) Miles division wants to nominate him for Sailor of the Quarter (S.O.Q)?!?!? While this is a great thing it comes with an insane amount of paperwork. So, this last week, while he was trying to keep this whole Korea trip going...he'd come home at 10-11, and stay up until 1-2 am working on his (S.O.Q) stuff. The stress was insane...

So...Tuesday morning, at morning muster, Miles is told that he is going to Korea in less than 24 hours! AAAGGGHHH! He was also told that he could go home as soon as he had his stuff sorted out so that he'd have time to get himself packed and his S.O.Q. paperwork in before he had to be at the airport at 5am Wednesday morning. YEP (all those of you who have lived the military life know what is coming, huh?) he didn't get home until almost 7 pm that night...there were all kinds of problems getting orders for him to leave... I believe that by the time we got the bags packed and the paperwork done it was closing in on 2am, which gave us a lovely 2 hour nap before we were up and headed to the airport.

So, Miles is in Korea...and I just got an email from him this morning complaining that in order to save $$, his command had them bunked up in open barracks with 100 other guys...he says Korea just got a whole lot less exciting! Nothing like having to do boot camp again :-)

So, that is our excitement. Fortunately, this is a short trip and he'll be home Saturday...unfortunately, communication is spotty at best, and I haven't heard from him since his last email early Friday morning. SIGH!

The girls and I are fine...unfortunately, we are getting really used to this insanity!

What else is new?

Well, they are finally installing a fence in our backyard. We requested one be installed when we moved in 2 years ago... :-)

Honestly, after the drama of getting Miles to Korea...I have worked really hard to keep everything very low key for the last few days! Have to recharge my "batteries" so I am ready for our next big Navy adventure...because the only thing that is certain about this life is that nothing is for certain! :-)

Love you all!

Check out my Slide Show!

2008-02-20T10:09:00.001-05:00

Curly Curls...

2008-02-19T20:14:00.003-05:00

Whenever Daddy is gone, we have "girl" parties. These usually involve bubble baths, fingernail painting and "curly curls". Want to let you know that I am aware that Emma has only half a head of curlers...this is not because we ran out, or I lost my patience...NOPE! Emma has the most sensitive scalp of all time. And after getting half of her head done she REFUSED to let any more curlers touch her head...so there you go! When I can get them to sleep in them, they will have the cutest hair. These curlers stayed in most of the day, and produced some beautiful ringlets...however, my girls will NOT sleep in them, so all the curl falls out real quick. SIGH! Someday :-)

Packing Emma...

2008-02-19T20:09:00.003-05:00

As Miles is once again a traveling man, our living room is home to the ubiquitous suitcase. One Sunday morning I came downstairs to discover that Emma was IN the front pocket of our largest suitcase "reading" a book to Maddie, who was contentedly sitting beside her. The cuteness just NEVER stops! :-)

Read on...we posted some great video footage....

Super Mom...

2008-02-19T19:48:00.003-05:00

This morning was one of my better "Mom" days. You know, the ones where there seems to be magic in the air...the kids are happy, and listen...and you are energetic and animated...and everyone has a blast just being! That was this morning.

We started with Play-Doh. The girls probably spent a good hour creating anything and everything with the Play-Doh kit that Emma received for her birthday yesterday. It was awesome to see their little minds work! We had such a great time...

THEN, we planted strawberries. That's right, strawberries. Last Saturday we were at Wal-Mart and the girls had been soooo awesome all day, and were being great despite the late hour and the fact that they hadn't eaten yet. I was in the gardening section pricing some supplies we'll need for our garden this year, when an end-aisle display caught ALL of our eyes. It was a strawberry planting kit...and it was only $1.98! So, as a reward I let them each pick a kit. So this morning we planted strawberries...we had fun mixing the dirt with water, planting the seeds, and then watering our plants...and then trying to find a sunny place to put them! It was alot of fun.

At this point, I look at my watch and it is only 10am...now what? Well, fortunately for me..Tuesdays are Romp n' Stomp (this is where they fill a gym on base with every toy known to man, and mothers gather to let their children play!) So, off we went for an hour of play...

It was a great morning!

Our afternoon was filled with the usual naps, and school...a trip to the library, then home for dinner.

As I was putting dinner on the table, I called Maddie down from upstairs. Maddie calls down, "Just a minute, I am not ready yet." Miles and I, puzzled, inquire "Ready for what?" Maddie's reply, "I am not ready for the dinner party yet." The dinner party? Sure enough, not three minutes later our little girl appears at the foot of the stairs dressed in one of her "princess dresses". She then pretends to "ring" the doorbell...which we, of course, answered and graciously invited our nicely dressed guest to please seat herself at the table. She very graciously replied, "Thank You." and took her seat. So, we ate dinner tonight with "Princess Maddie"! :-)

Hope you enjoy the video!

Birthday Card Magic...

2008-02-19T19:40:00.003-05:00

Emma received a "music" card from Nana and Papa, and it has been her favorite gift. We captured the following this evening...ENJOY!

February 18th...

2008-02-18T19:48:00.003-05:00

A big day in the Maschger family. It is the day that our Emma finally arrived...THREE years ago. Yep...our little Emma celebrated her 3rd birthday today. Our "baby" is three! SIGH!

Emma has been eagerly anticipating her birthday for about a month now...and being Emma, she knew exactly what she wanted and made sure that none of us had a chance to forget the particulars. For example, a "pink Cinderella" cake, dinner at McDonald's...where we would eat IN McDonald's, and of course, chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast. I am happy to report that we were able to meet all of her expectations, and that the day seems to have been a success. We are a bit concerned about what will happen tomorrow when she realizes it ISN'T her birthday anymore...:-)

In other big news, we have finally moved our girls out of their toddler beds and into BIG girl beds. In our first ever visit to an IKEA store (which is an experience for any who have not ever been), we selected a bunk bed for our two little girls. After 5 HOURS of assembly, Maddie and Emma "moved" into their bunks. Madelynn is on the top bunk...which she LOVES, except for the actual climbing of the ladder...she does not like climbing the ladder. However, once she gets to the top, her face breaks into an ear-to-ear grin, and she can hardly contain her excitement. Emma is, of course, on the bottom bunk. Her biggest issue is that she can't see Maddie...honestly, the first night she cried and cried, "I can't see my Maddie!" Now, before she goes to sleep, we have to lift her up so she can see Maddie on the top bunk. Pretty cute! :-) We also purchased a dresser, but have yet to find another 5 hours we can devote to its assembly! :-)

What else?

Miles is supposed to be heading to Korea in a week, however the trip has hit some snags, so we'll see. He is insanely busy at work as he is trying to step up and take more responsibility, as per his chain of command's suggestions. He is getting some good experience, but there is a price to be paid...and the currency is time. We are really learning to enjoy the time we have him at home! :-) Actually, up until his trip to New York last week, we had had him home for 3 whole months...the longest time since our arrival almost 2 years ago. I might have gotten a bit spoiled! :-)

Other than that, the girls continue to fill our moments with mirth and merriment! :-) Here are a couple of gems:

A couple of nights ago the girls were in the bathroom brushing their teeth. After brushing, they fill a small disposable Dixie cup with water to "rinse" their mouth. Emma, after taking a drink, exclaims "I LOVE water!" Maddie replies, "I LOVE reindeer!" Miles and I love random! :-)

About a week ago, it was time to read scriptures. Miles asked me if I remembered what we were reading (we read 5 verses a night with our girls), and I replied, "2 Nephi 4: 26-30" Madelynn pipes up and says, "4, like me. I am 4." Emma, not to be outdone says, "And I am 26-30" It is soo great to be a parent!

We love and miss you all!

Maschger Family Pictures

2008-02-03T20:15:00.001-05:00

Dancing Princesses...

2008-02-03T19:46:00.001-05:00

Last week we had our good friend Ainsley come and play with us...and what do three little girls find to amuse themselves...some great clothes and music...our dancing princesses...

Where, oh where...

2008-02-03T19:25:00.000-05:00

has all my time gone?

Somehow...I have let an entirely too long time pass since my last post. My apologies...

I'd love to tell you that the lack of info was due to dull days with nothing lively and exciting to report...but we all know that life rarely deals us such days, much less weeks! :-) On the other hand, as I sit here and try to gather my thoughts, and remember the multiplicity of gems that occurred through the week that both Miles and I said, "That needs to go in the blog"...YEP...can't remember a single one! Could it be the onset of old age?

Ahhh, well...we'll just begin with today. We had an excellent Sabbath day...truly! As our ward is now on the 11:30 schedule, our Sunday mornings have slowed down, and that has been nice. While Miles still has meetings in the morning, he is able to get home most Sundays to help with the final dramatic rush for the door...which I REALLY appreciate! The girls behaved extremely well in Sacrament meeting, except for the minor fit Maddie threw when Mom went up to bear her testimony...other than that no problems. The last couple of Sundays have gone this way...and Miles and I have found ourselves having to actually listen to the speakers...this has taken some getting used to, but I believe we'll adjust eventually! :-)

Upon our arrival at home, Emma went straight to the couch and laid down...a bit unusual for our smallest one, but I chalked it up to a missed nap and carried her up to bed. About an hour later, I found her lying on her bed, wide awake...just staring at the ceiling. A quick hand to the forehead verified that our little Emma was running a fever...a pretty high one. Within an hour she'd downed two full glasses of water/juice, not strayed from her Mommy's lap, and asked no less than a dozen times to go back to bed. Needless to say, we had her in bed and asleep by 6:30...always hate it when my little ones are sick! Madelynn was extremely concerned about her little sister...and kept touching her forehead, and handing her the cup of juice. Maddie even...on her own...went upstairs and brought Emma her "Nana blanket"...which is Emma's special blanket. Our Maddie is such a big girl, and she is very in tune with the needs of others! Yesterday, I was putting up our groceries, and dropped a can on my finger...as I rocked back and forth in pain and agony...Maddie appeared at my side, "What is wrong Mommy?" I replied, through gritted teeth, "Nothing, Mommy is fine." Maddie says, ever so concerned, "Mommy, you are not fine. You are crying." Can't fool her! :-)

Anyway, here we are the end of the day with a crazy week ahead. Miles has taken some leave on Wednesday and Thursday...and we are looking forward to having him home. I have a doctor's appointment on Wednesday to have another chest x-ray to verify that I have cleared out my lungs and am all better...and we have a TON of "spring" cleaning to do! We are in an extreme de-clutter mode these days, and we have learned to run with those moods because they don't come often enough. So, stay tuned!

Meanwhile, I hope you enjoy the pictures and video :-) Lots of love...

Me 2

2008-01-23T20:09:00.000-05:00

So, here I am...upstairs at our computer with the headphones on (makes it easier to pretend that the girls are asleep) and who can guess what is playing? U2

I have sooo many memories wrapped up in the music of this group, that I am thoroughly enjoying a trip down memory lane...everything from church dances, to Friday nights out with friends, to those fabulous BYU days, to driving Cali's Hwy 1 with the sunroof open...it is good to be me! Anyway...

Had a relatively uneventful day..those are nice to have occasionally! Maddie had another appointment with her therapist up in Baltimore this morning...so that took care of the first half of the day! :-) This afternoon, we headed to the park and enjoyed being out...while it was cold, the fresh air was AWESOME...and the girls needed to RUN and RUN and RUN!

Dinner tonight was Miles all time favorite meal...Navajo Tacos. Maddie announced tonight that it is her favorite meal as well...as long as we don't put "salad" (lettuce) on hers! She also quickly set things to right when Dad set the table, but forgot to put the sour cream on...Maddie LOVES sour cream...which she calls "sour cream sauce" (it seems she got a few things from her mother!)

That is about it from here...

The Twilight Zone...

2008-01-21T19:40:00.000-05:00

A couple of nights ago, our little family had a unique experience...

I had made for dinner a homemade pizza. I had, in consideration of my small ones, made 1/2 cheese only. I had also, to appease my Mommy guilt, made green beans to serve alongside our pizza. As I prepared the plates for our little angels, I noted the portion sizes I was serving them...they each had maybe 4 small pieces of green bean...and 1 rather large piece of pizza. We all know that children LOVE pizza, and have not so wonderful feelings towards all things green...at least our children do! I placed the plates in front of the girls, and then it happened....

Madelynn quickly devoured her green beans, and flatly refused to eat her pizza. Did you want a minute to read that again...make sure you read it right! In our house, the rule is you have to eat your dinner, or you sit at the table until clean up time...what a show our Maddie put on in the 45 minutes she sat at the table. She went on and on about how she doesn't like cheese, she doesn't like bread...she would put pieces in her mouth, and gag and gag and gag and gag. Honestly, she could easily snatch up an Oscar for her performance! (I might add that at dinner this evening she inhaled a piece of "cheesy bread"-which is basically garlic bread with a little bit of cheddar cheese on top-note: BOTH bread and cheese!)

That night, as Miles and I reflected on the moment, certain that we had slipped into the Twilight Zone...to a place where children LOVE the healthy food, and shun the fattening food...we wondered if maybe we'd fought the wrong battle :-)

Love you all!

May the Force be with You...

2008-01-21T19:13:00.000-05:00

We have recently introduced our little princesses to the wonderful world of "Star Wars". We have the Lego Star Wars game for our Wii, and it is one of my favorite games to play...and the girls LOVE to watch the action. I decided a couple of weeks ago, that given their interest in the game, perhaps they'd like the movies. I must admit, I had apprehensions...Emma gets "scared" at the smallest thing...we have several Veggie Tale movies that we can't watch without fast-forwarding through the "scary parts" for our Emma. I believed that our little Em would probably not make through the first five minutes...ummm...children ever keep you guessing, and they are FULL of surprises! In fact, Star Wars has become the movie of choice over the last few weeks, and I wanted to share with you the world that George Lucas created as seen through the eyes of a 4 yr old and a 2 yr old:

Princess "Lucy" a.k.a. Princess Leia...for reasons only known to Emma, who INSISTS on calling Princess Leia, Princess Lucy

P-O-P-O a.k.a. C3PO
R-D-D-2 a.k.a. R2-D2
"the bluckie guy with the buttons on his clothes" a.k.a. Darth Vader
"the blue bluckie guy" a.k.a. The Emperor
"the red bluckie guy" a.k.a. Darth Maul...who has won a special place in our girls hearts. In fact, when asked which Star Wars movie they want to watch...it is almost always the one with the "red bluckie guy". I have on occasion, when in a hurry, been able to appease them by simply skipping to the final fight scene...which is apparently their favorite "red bluckie guy" scene! :-)
"walkies" a.k.a. Ewoks
"the blue flying guy" a.k.a. Jango Fett...of course Boba is the "the green flying guy"
"the green monster" a.k.a Jaba the Hutt
"the brown monster" a.k.a. the Rancor

Interesting side notes, they have no clue who Luke Skywalker is...they can name most of the bad guys, but Luke's character has made little to no impression on our little princesses!

I, personally, am enjoying the fact that their imaginative play repertoire has expanded from "princess" to light saber fights and using the "force" on each other (they will actually occasionally stop swinging their imaginary light sabers at each other, and put their hands out in front of them, and render an excellent "I-am-using-the-force-on-you" pose!)

The other night, as we were sitting at the dinner table, out of the clear blue sky, Maddie picks up her imaginary "blaster" and lets off three quick shots...then turns to us and explains, "Bad guys". Being the excellent mother I am :-) I determined to nip this in the bud by announcing that there would be NO shooting of bad guys at the dinner table, and I was putting a force field around the table to protect us while we ate (anyone see what is coming?) I pushed my imaginary control buttons on the table, and settled back to finish dinner, when Maddie exclaims, in horror, "Mom, there is a door in the force field" How do you argue with that?

Lest you think the force field made no impression...a day later, Miles was in the kitchen doing dishes (he IS the perfect husband!) and Maddie come running in, "Daddy, monsters are coming". Miles, the perfect husband, says "Not now. Daddy is doing dishes, we'll get the monsters when I am finished" At which point Maddie turns around, pushes several imaginary buttons and activates a force field around Daddy to protect him until he is finished...and because you never know...she then stood guard just in case!

So...from our star system to yours...May the Force be with You! :-)

Like Me!

2008-01-15T10:01:00.000-05:00

So...here is another GREAT moment brought to us by Emma...

Several nights ago we were in the midst of family scripture time. As OFTEN happens the attention span of our little Thing 1 (Maddie) and Thing 2 (Emma) was wearing thin. Miles had pulled Emma into his lap, to try and help her to "focus" but we were losing Maddie quickly. As we were reading the part of 1 Nephi where the angel comes to chastise Laman and Lemuel for beating up Nephi and Sam...I had a flash of inspiration to read the angel's words in a LOUD, BOOMING voice. (Yep, doing voices while reading the scriptures...think I could get in trouble for that?) As I am BOOMING the words of the angel, Emma looks up at her father, shaking her head back and forth and says to her father, "I have a silly Mommy" to which her father-ever my champion-says, "Yes, yes - you do." However, not to be discouraged...because I had everyone's attention now...I proceeded to read the verse containing Laman and Lemuel's response to this angelic visitation in the best whiny voice I possibly could. As I finished, I commented on how Laman and Lemuel were BIG whiners. Emma's face lit up, and she exclaimed, "Like ME!" This leaves Miles and I to ponder whether or not Emma is understanding that when we tell she is a whiner...that is a BAD thing! Something to work on! :-)

As you can tell, I managed to survive day 1...

However, today is poised to completely do me in. Maddie has an appointment up in Baltimore this afternoon at Kennedy Krieger. That means that Emma will miss her nap, and we are guaranteed to be in the midst of rush hour on the way home...all the ingredients for a fine, fine day! :-)

I need to go and get the girls fed, and ready to go...keep coming back for more! We love and miss you all!

BIG sick...

2008-01-14T13:06:00.000-05:00

A.K.A. Pneumonia!

Yep! That sickness that I thought I was recovering from, came back with a vengeance, and turned out to be pneumonia. What fun we have had the last 5 days! :-{ Miles took 4 days of leave, and has been husband/father of the year picking up ALL of the slack, as I have been able to do ABSOLUTELY nothing. At one point I found myself unable to muster the strength to open a bottle of Sprite...HOWEVER, I believe that I have overcome the worst of it, and look forward to clearing out my lungs over the next couple of weeks. Fortunately, both of the girls and Miles have been spared...keeping our fingers crossed.

I don't have time to get into ALL of the priceless gems over the last week...however, this time I did at least make a list, so I can eventually get to them all. I wanted to offer a wee teaser, that will hopefully make you smile and keep you coming back for more...

A couple of nights ago we are seated at the table enjoying some chocolate chip cookies. Madelynn, ever our giver, takes one of her two cookies, breaks it into four semi-equal pieces, and proceeds to give each of us a piece of her cookie. Of course, both Miles and I rained praises on her for sharing, and in turn shared a large piece of our cookies with her. I looked over at Emma who was enjoying her cookie gift, and I asked, "Emma, would you like to share some of your cookie with Maddie, since she shared with you?" Emma says, "Sure" and proceeds to break off the tiniest crumb from the piece of cookie that Maddie originally gave her and hand the microscopic offering to her sister...SIGH! Technically sharing, may have to work of the SPIRIT of sharing! :-)

Honestly, soo much more...I'll be back I promise!

We are still here...

2008-01-07T20:21:00.000-05:00

It has been waaay too long. The last few days have been completely lost to us as I have been VERY ill, and Miles has been valiantly playing BOTH Mom and Dad. As it appears I am finally on the mend, let's bring you all up to date on the latest from the Maschger home...

These are in no particular order:

Build-a-Bear: Grandma and Grandpa Maschger sent Maddie and Emma gift certificates for Christmas to go to Build-a-Bear and create their very own "baby". So we made the trek to the "big" mall (that is what our girls call the mall in Columbia, MD) and let them choose all the stuff for their very own baby. What a treat! Madelynn completely got into the entire experience...if you've never done a build-a-bear, they really know how to market to their client :-) Once the bears were chosen, and stuffed, it was time to dress them. Emma quickly chose a Tinkerbell outfit apparently because it came with a "magic wand" which Emma carried for the next three days! Just the other day, as I was taking her to nap time carrying her "magic wand", I asked her what she was going to do with her wand. She replied, "Nothing, it doesn't work" :-) Now that the bears are dressed it is time to name them, and receive the official "birth certificate". Our Maddie named her bear, "Tayta"...Emma named hers "Toto" (we had watched Wizard of Oz a couple of days before...guess it made an impression!) Finally, it is time to check-out, and each bear is placed in its own "house" (a cardboard box shaped like a house) Maddie would have NO such thing, her baby Tayta was NOT going in the house...Emma had no issues, so Maddie carried her bear out, and Emma let Daddy carry her "house" out. It was a GREAT experience. Thank you Grandma and Grandpa...

A great idea: While we were at the "big" mall, Miles and I took the opportunity to do some fact finding as we are in the market for cell phones. We stopped at several kiosks, and spent time wading through the sales pitches...adding a good hour or so to our day. By the time we left the mall dinner time was quickly approaching...as we were walking to the car, I suggested to Miles perhaps we should just go eat at Cheesecake Factory...which is a joke because to feed our family there would take more money then we have in our "eat-out" budget...Emma immediately turns around, and says, "THAT is a GREAT idea Mom!" There is NO possible way she has EVER heard the term "Cheesecake Factory" much less be able to associate it with food...however, what she did hear was "go eat at"...and that means not eating at home, and Emma LOVES not eating at home!

A kid: A couple of days ago, Miles was upstairs with Maddie trying to get her to actually be quiet during our "quiet time". They were snuggled on "Mommy's bed", and as any hard-working dad would do, Miles was drifting in and out of consciousness. Suddenly Maddie sits up and blurts out, "Dad, I just thought of something. Kid!" At which point she lays back down, and the moment is over...what I wouldn't give to know what goes on in that little head! :-)

Obviously with a whole week gone by, there are more stories to tell than can possibly be told, and unfortunately I have forgotten so many I was going to remember...SIGH! We have been blessed with such awesome girls, who are loaded with personality, and are at such a great age right now, that there will always be something to write...

Maddie is experiencing one of her developmental "growth" spurts. In just the last couple of weeks, she has taken it upon herself to decide whether her clothes need to go in the laundry or not, and if they are clean, then she will FOLD them and put them away...all by herself. The last couple of days, she take her clothes into the bathroom, and dresses herself...with little to no help. Her new favorite word? "Cooperate" To Maddie this means anytime Mom and Dad give her help in any way...we are cooperating...Maddie LOVES to cooperate! :-) Without fail, she makes sure there are napkins on the table anytime we are eating, and she is VERY careful to clean up any of her spills. What a blessing is our biggest girl!

Emma is also exploding in her growth...her vocabulary can be down right disturbing! The other day, she was pouting at the kitchen table. I asked her why she was sad...Our little girls says, "Mom, I am 'frusterated' ". I replied, "Why are you frustrated?" She says, "Because I wanted to say the prayer, but you picked Maddie to say the prayer." As our experience with young children speaking has been Maddie who didn't say more than 50 words until she was over 3...a 2-yr-old who uses words like "frustrated" and "because" and correct verb tenses...is a totally new experience. Emma turns 3 February 18th, and to Miles and I we think, "Is she only turning 3? Are you sure we didn't misplace a year or two somewhere?" Now if we could just get her to use the potty :-) It always has to be something!

Check out my Slide Show!

2008-01-02T19:12:00.001-05:00

Butterflies in your face-Emma

2008-01-01T21:01:00.000-05:00

Butterflies in your face-Maddie

2008-01-01T20:56:00.000-05:00

Can you have too much fun?

2008-01-01T20:11:00.000-05:00

NOPE! Not in this house! :-)

We have spent the last two days filling the hours with one game after another. Our girls have reached such a great, magical age...they are finally able to actually play games. We have played everything from Candy Land, to hide and seek, to "duck, duck, goose", to "Go Fish", to several games completely invented by our Maddie. I'd go into detail...however, we may market some of these, and we wouldn't want to spoil the surprise! :-) Truly, Miles and I have had such a wonderful time laughing and playing with our girls!

Yesterday afternoon we sat down at the table to have our "party" for New Year's Eve. (In one of my more clever "mom" moments...I thought it might be best to fill them with sugar EARLY) Anyway, we sat before this marvelous spread of fudge, and peanut butter bars, and chips and cheese, and pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, and chocolate for dipping a bowlful of strawberries...you get the picture. Before I had reached across the table to start filling plates, Emma had grabbed at least 3 pieces of fudge and crammed them in her mouth. :-) We immediately moved the fudge AWAY from Emma. Maddie, very excited about the chocolate dipped strawberries, was anxiously waiting for Mom to get her plate filled. After eating all of her chocolate dipped strawberries, she turns to me with a piece of fudge in hand, and asks if she can dip that in chocolate. I pointed out that fudge was already chocolate...she looked a little puzzled, then took a small bite from the corner...and with a completely stunned look cries out..."It IS chocolate, Mom" Apparently a love of chocolate is genetic? After stuffing ourselves, we settled into the rest of our crazy party evening....involving a bath for the girls, FHE, and a movie. About 30 minutes into the movie, Emma announces that she is tired, and heads to bed...it was 6:30pm! :-) That was our New Year's Eve...

Interestingly, when I asked Emma what she wanted for lunch today, she replied, "I want a party again" :-)

Today, the girls were "helping" us sort laundry. Maddie was on one side of a pile, and Miles asked her if she had any white clothes. He reply, "Go fish!" Are you laughing? We sure did!

There were sooo many beautiful moments with our girls over the last two days, that I am afraid if I were to share them all, none of us could get on with our lives! However, I wanted to share with you a brief video of a new game...invented by Dad. Santa brought us the game "Elefun" back in 2006. It is a favorite with our girls. So, of course, with yesterday's game frenzy, "Elefun" was selected. We pulled it down, only to discover that the batteries were on their last leg...not enough juice to push the small "butterflies" up the tube...so, Dad gets the girls to stick their faces over the fan...minus the tube, and blows "butterflies" into their faces. THEY LOVED IT! (Sidenote: this morning I was upstairs in the office, when Emma approached me with the following, "Mom, we need to go to the commissary and get the batteries, ok? Because the commissary has the batteries. So, we need to go to the commissary and get the batteries." I replied, "Batteries for what?" Exasperated and throwing her hands in the air, "For the Elefun, Mom" Then in classic Mom mode, I reply, "OK...I'll put it on my list so I will remember the next time I go to the commissary." Emma replies, "OK, and then we can ALL go to the commissary with you to get the batteries." This same conversation was repeated SEVERAL time today. Finally this evening, she adds the following, "Mom, we need to get the bunny batteries, ok?" Anyone question whether marketing targets kids?)

So enjoy the video...we love you all!

A Day of Rest?

2007-12-30T19:40:00.000-05:00

This morning started bright and early...Miles off to meetings, and me working to finish up lesson prep. As I am wrapping things up in the office, I am listening to our girls talking to each other...suddenly Emma starts singing "I Am A Child of God", Maddie quickly joins in and it was an angelic duet! A marvelous start to my sabbath day...which was good because it all unraveled crazy fast!

In very typical fashion, the later it got...the more deaf the children became (anyone ever dealt with this phenomenon?) I find myself with 15 minutes before time to be on the road to church, and BOTH children are still in their pjs...having a wonderful time playing and completely oblivious to their mother's frantic attempts to get them focused on getting ready. In a very human moment, I misplaced my temper for a moment...note I didn't LOSE my temper...just misplaced it :-) and I doomed us to an inevitable late departure by issuing the ultimatum that somebody better get their rear end over to Mom for their church-going hairstyle, or their would be intense unhappiness. This of course got both girls crying, and as previously mentioned...slowed down the process of getting out the door. It also got Maddie off on the wrong foot, and by the time I was ushering her out the door she was pretty upset...to the point that she started screaming and crying that she didn't want to leave her house, "I wanna go back inside my house!" So, I dragged her down the sidewalk, and hefted her into her carseat, and buckled her in as she cried and cried and cried. I grabbed her little body in a big hug, and said a prayer. Emma, who was not happy, but was completely overshadowed by the meltdown from her sister, was quickly buckled in, and I climbed into my seat to head to church...with two crying children. I did stop, and say another prayer, then put the car in reverse and started to back out when Maddie starts screaming again...in a whole new pitch..."NOOOOOOO! Don't leave my house! NOOOOOOO!"

By the time we arrived at church she had calmed down, and after I promised to carry her into church, she left the car, and we made it into church with little to no more incidents. I have a picture schedule for Maddie for sacrament meeting, to help her know what is going on...we try not to use it EVERY Sunday...but this was definitely a picture Sunday. Sacrament meeting went well, and off she went to Primary with her friend, Hailey Chapman. However, this is the fifth Sunday, and that means combined third hour, which means that Primary works differently to maximize the people who can attend...this was NOT the day to mess Maddie's schedule. Needless to say, one of the members of the Primary brought a sobbing Maddie into us at the very beginning of third hour...which she then spent sitting on her Daddy's lap, watching Mommy's watch tick down the seconds until it was time to go home. It was a rough church day!

However, once we got home, things settled VERY quickly, and we have had a wonderful afternoon with the girls. We had the Elders over for dinner tonight, and Maddie was quite the hostess...she wanted to know what they got for Christmas, and what they were going to be tomorrow? It was pretty cute. While Miles took the Elders back to their apartment, the girls and I danced to some rockin' Primary tunes from the group "InsideOut"...and had alot of fun!

Quick Emma story...yesterday Emma hurt her finger, a small cut...nothing life threatening, but definitely in need of a band-aid (whoever invented band-aids HAD to have been a parent...because those things work MIRACLES!). Anyway, tonight at dinner she announced she had to go potty (Emma is in the phase of potty training where she sits on the potty for less than 1 second, gets up...flushes...washes her hands, and reports back to the family that she "used" the potty. ) Apparently, during the hand washing portion of the routine, her band-aid came off...as this is about the 3rd band-aid I have put on her in the last 2 days...I told her she could wait until AFTER dinner to get another band-aid. Being Emma, she would NOT drop the topic..."OWWWWIE, I need a band-aid. Mommy, OWWWWIE, I need a band-aid" Exasperated, I said, "You are NOT getting a band-aid until after dinner...if you want I can tie your hair ribbon around your finger until you get your new band-aid" As an adult the idiocy of this statement is obvious...to a 2 year old it is pure logic! :-) She replied, "I need my pretty on my finger." Stuck, I removed her LARGE hot pink ribbon from her hair and tied it around her little finger...and through the remainder of dinner she was constantly admiring her "band-aid". Another brilliant Mom moment brought to you by me....stay tuned there are bound to be more...

Finally, tonight as the girls knelt to say their prayers, our little Maddie offered up the following, "Heavenly Father, help us to have a baby (she is VERY baby hungry...she wants Mommy and Daddy to have a baby...NOW). We will name the baby "Lay-ta" . Bless the missionaries to be home. Bless the baby we will name "Lay-ta". In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen." Out of the mouths of babes...:-)

We love you all! Tune in tomorrow for more Maschger zaniness! :-)