Maya's Mom is Live!!

After all these months of hard work by the Maya's Mom team (of which I was once a part), Maya's Mom is now live at last!
We hope it will be a place for parents to connect, share, help one another, exchange ideas and advice and provide fun things to do with their kids. Check it out and register to get the full experience. Once inside, you can surf around to see what's there - if you have any questions, please let the group know by clicking on the feedback button on each page.
I hope you enjoy it, it's been so much fun to be a part of it!

Domino's new friends

Domino is getting to know some of the locals, good thing they're friendly!

Fire up the pit, it's a camp out!

Let's be sensible and camp at home dang it! That's what we said a couple of weekends ago and I'm so glad we did. We had so much fun setting up our big tent in the back yard, filling it with fluffy pillows, mats and blankets and making a cozy little outdoor home. Of course, you can't go camping without roasting shmellows!! So we stopped at Tar-jay during the day and picked up a fire pit (and of course a coupla Halloween tshirts for the kids and pumpkin boxers for the S.O. and a fab bag for me) so we could burn down the house (and I do mean that literally, we had leftover wood from the remodel). What fun! Can I tell you how much I love a good fire? And in my back yard? Stop it! We had such a nice time, just the fam, hanging and roasting until we were all tired and yawny (not to be confused with the cheesy musician).
An-nee-way, the best part of it was, any time we needed something - like say, a clean toilet - we just popped into the house for it. Ha! And when it came time to put Miles to bed - noooo problemo, just popped him into his crip upstairs and turned on the monitor. So everyone got to sleep through the night . . . well would have slept through the night if mommy and pappi hadn't had those frothy beverages that induce urination at all the wrong hours of the night. But did I have to sneak off to find some scary looking bush to pee behind?? Nope, just popped into the warm house. Ha! Backyard camping rules. period.
And the next day? The most delicious nap in that tent . . .

Big-sister-love

Miles just loves his big sis, he lights up whenever she walks in the room - total puppy l.o.v.e. The other night we snappy a few of them cuddling in the kitchen.

First day of school . . .

Awwww, Emma is off to another new school year . . . can't believe she's in 1st grade - wow, that went by fast! Now she'll be in school for most of the day - that's a switch for us, she's always only done 1/2 day. Hope mommy handles it well! :)

Taking an important business call

Things that go bump in the night

Whenever the hubby is traveling it seems like this house comes alive with noises that I've never heard before. I always tell myself that they're always there, I just don't usually hear them becuase we're all here and talking and making noise. Well, tonight there was something different. It was undeniable, and it was in my bedbroom.
I heard a distinct bump, bump from near the cabinet we keep our tv in. . .at first I thought it was just the shelving over there settling in and I ignored it. But then, I heard it again, but louder this time. Ut-oh. What could it be?? Hmmm, I'm going to have to investigate. And then I realized I was about to have one of those horror movie moments where your peeking into disaster and the audience is saying "don't look in there!". But what can you do? You've got to look - call it stupid human nature.
I went over to the cabinet and quickly oepned the big doors - annnnd, nothing. Okay, the drawers then? What could be in there? Perhaps the kitty? Nahhhh, how would he have gotten in there? I shut that drawer hours ago. Well, I pulled open that drawer and who looked up at me with cute, sleepy eyes?
Of course, the kitty. So cute, all curled up in there, seemingly happy as can be. Guess the little guy isn't claustrophobic - until now that is.
What I want to know is - how long was he in there for and how on earth did he get in there? I remember shutting the drawer earlier in the evening after Miles had pulled it open while exploring . . .but I think I would have noticed shutting the kitty away - right? It's not a deep drawer. Hmmmm, the mysteries of the animal kingdom continue . . .

Standard morning scene . . .

The usual drill in the morning these days is that we're either woken up by Miles, or he wakes up shortly after we do and then after a little diaper change and a little milky it's over to his couch for a little r&r. Eventually his sister pads silently down the stairs in her nighty (I'm always after her to put on her bathrobe so she's not so cold, but to no avail) and joins him on the little couch for a some Sesame Street. Love that show - seems to get better and better. The other day they were spoofing The Donald in a skit called the Grouch Apprentice. It was pretty funny and I was thinking that "The Donald" couldn't have possibly been in on it otherwise he would have insisted on a special guest appearance that was not forthecoming. So I guess Sesame Street decided to play hard-ball against The Donald. Sesame Street's got bawls. Alas, I digress - my point was that I love seeing Miles and his sis hanging out just like I hope they'll do always. Gives me that warm and fuzzy "I love having a family!" feeling.

Our newest housemate

Well, the plan was to get a dog . . .but we opted for something a little easier on the lifestyle for now . . .plus Emma has been wanting a kitty forever - so we are now the happy parents of Domino, our sweet, rambunctious kitty. He's making quick work of our plants and couches . . .so we've taken to implementing the squirt bottle to keep the little sucker in line. Ahhh, the joys of parenting. He's so damn cute thought, it's worth it. Don't you think?