Welcome Hayden Ranae!

They say that only an aunt can give hugs like a mother, can keep secrets like a sister, and share love like a friend. After welcoming Hayden Ranae to the world on Wednesday, it made sense. She is everything perfect. I have spent the last two days admiring her during each free moment I've had. I've watched her face expressions and listened to her whimpers. I saw her attempt to nurse her first time, laid awake late at night thinking about her and reminiscing about her smell, fingers, hair, and smile.

I can't wait to embrace her in my arms with love, watch her grow into a young lady, witness her attitude and watch her parents get frustrated, be there when she needs a non-judgemental ear, support her in her life decisions, encourage her to pursue dreams and let her know how much I love her.

Hayden, you've already changed my life, and you don't even know it yet. In just 24 hours, and I already know that you'll be amazing! I can't wait for this world to meet you and see all that you have to offer.

Hayden Ranae Hodgins

April 11, 2012 7:30 p.m.

6 lbs 4 oz ~ 19 in

Pinterest Innovation

I'm really not the creative type. Any personal ingenious comes from someone else’s inspiration. But, hey, I was taught to not reinvent the wheel, so I do my best. I rattled my brain for a short while before realizing that the key to baby-shower-success is Pinterest. They have everything from décor to food. After logging in, it was a piece of cake (without the cake!)

I started with the nursery theme "You are My Sunshine"...

Added a cute handmade invitation that sold for $15 each on Etsy,,,

Messed up, uh, I mean, tore, ripped, shredded, uh created a few beautiful tissue poofs,,,

Combined those with the thoughtful "Wishes for Baby" hand-written by a five year old and distributed to all 50+ attendees at the shower...

Added a diaper trike for the Harley-loving parents, which sells for $65 online...

Borrowed my daughters bed canopy for a soft flair and reused the bazillion cake stands left over from the wedding...

And wah-lah!! We have a beautiful brunch, in a rented space, that served our baby shower needs for one of the most special ladies in my life... my sis.

Take 1, 2.... 6, 7...

It was such a fun night at the Hansen's -- and, of course, we celebrated with ice cream!!

R-E-S-P-E-C-T

One of my goals as a mom is to teach my children respect. Respect in the biggest form possible -- manners, thoughtfulness, sharing, empathy, listening, appreciation, turn-taking -- and giving. Coincidentally, Lent seems to be the perfect season to encourage the opportunity to give.

So, last week, we attended Ash Wednesday mass (as we do every year), but this year on the way home, we explained that the ashes were a sign of our repentance to God... or in our words to the kids, "a promise to God that we wouldn't do bad things". I didn't anticipate that the kids would fully understand what Lent was all about, but the more we talked about it, the more they listened and were intrigued.

That night we made our commitments. Jarin gave up snacking between meals, I decided to withdraw from caffeine, and the kids agreed to say no to candy for the next 40 days. "Oh, this will last a whole 2 days," I thought to myself! Well, 8 days later and we're doing pretty good (other than Jarin is hungry, I'm tired, and we're both crabby!) The kids though, have been pretty faithful -- but quick to explain that fruit snacks and cookies are not considered candy!

Caden has also added a new sacrifice to his list. He's given up "loving up on girls!" Seriously. At first, wondered if I heard him right, but I did. He's sticking to it too, and barely can give hugs and kisses to mom or grandma until Easter! Still working on explaining that one, but overall, a good start to the "giving" theme. Giving up things we don't need in our lives has been pretty easy. Now, we are on to tackling the conversations about giving more to others....

Today was the perfect, unfortunate segway. We received a letter at home yesterday that Sailor's dad was killed in a snowmobile accident over the weekend. You probably don't know Sailor. I don't either. But she is in Caden's kindergarten class. Five years old with a brother in 4th grade, and now without a father. I had the note from school sitting on the counter this morning when Caden brought it over to me and dropped his head without saying a word. I asked him if he knew what that sheet of information was about and he said yes.

As he stood there silent, I promised him that today after school we would get some cash to contribute to the fund for Sailor and her family. He somberly mumbled, "okay" and continued putting on his coat. As I left the house, I thought about that situation and all the support that I would need if I were in that mother's shoes. I truly can't imagine.

When I came home tonight, I learned that not only did my husband stop on the way to school for cash, but Caden reached into his own piggy bank before leaving and chose to donate $5.00 of his own money too. At that moment, it was obvious that we've been doing the right thing as parents. I was so proud of Cade and the respect that he showed, not only to the poor Schultz family, but to me.

Celebrating As A Girl Should

Jan 2012 arrived and Miss Sassy Pants decided that it was going to be a Birthday WEEK! Right on sweetie, as it should be! And so this is how we celebrated...

Monday Layne spent the day shopping at Coral Ridge with mom and Grandma. We did a little Victoria's Secret and a little Build-A-Bear. Made everyone happy, really. Okay, so she doesn't look super thrilled here, but that is just because she was mad at me for capturing the excess of lipstick that she had on, in addition to mom's face powder!

Tuesday after coming home from school, Alayna found that a birthday present was delivered early. A new bed and dresser set AND Hello Kitty sheets! What could be better!? She was a happy camper to finally transition from the crib to a twin bed. (Okay, so I know she is 4 now, and was still in a crib size bed... whatever.)

And I thought she'd look so big in this bed... oh no! Not when she brings her whole toy box to bed with her!

Wednesday was a tougher day for celebration, because we spent about 2 hours at an optometrist getting her eyes checked, dialated, and examined. Sure enough, she has astigmatism at 2 diopters, which is a moderate level, but requires corrective lenses.

Thankfully, she got to spend the rest of the day with her Nana and Hello Kitty sunglasses. I hear she was pretty bossy and deliberately gave directions as she saw fit for the day! Thanks Nana for putting up with the princess! :)

Thursday was finally the big 4th birthday! We had walking tacos and ice cream sundaes at the house and she enjoyed lots of fun time with her family she loves the most!

Friday was a very special day. After getting picked up early from school, Aly and mommy ordered the Hello Kitty cupcakes that have been talked about all too highly for the past month. Next stop was the Optical Shop to pick out her first pair of specs!

Biases aside, can she really get any cuter?

Saturday was low key, but we had fun finishing off her bedroom, putting all the fun new clothes away, cleaning out the toy room, storing old baby toys, and making room for the new. Oh, and of course she had to go shopping with Grandma for a new coat and baby (as though Christmas and birthday hadn't brought enough! And did I mention that we were just cleaning out the toy room? Oh, pardon me, it's her birthday week!) Plus, she insisted that we bake cookies and paint our nails... with sparkles of course!

Sunday brought the actual birthday party for friends at the Play Station. 10 little ones joined Aly for a big celebration of her first four years! Cupcakes, tunnels, presents and slides -- everyone had loads of fun.

Although, she wouldn't thank anyone for the gifts or for coming, she really did appreciate all her friends being there. We're still working on the snotty, entitled, sassy attitude that hits at the most inopportune times. But, as you can see she did have an awesome time and crashed hard once we got in the car.

In all, she knows how to raise our blood pressure, but she also does pretty well at melting our hearts. We couldn't be more happier to have this little princess in our lives. Thank you Alayna for all that you are to us, the patience that you create and expire, and the love that you bring to our family!

The Toast

As usual, we headed to our friends' for New Years. This year though, it wasn't about potlucks, pizza for kids, a little confetti and grab a horn. Oh no. This year the sitter was hired (to stay the night), the boys did the grocery shopping (and cooking), and we were treated like kings and queens in the Fortune's beautifully remodeled home. Just a quick glance at this feast, and you'll know that we had a good time.

We exchanged gifts and even had a few mean games of Left, Right, Center. We kicked off a dance party that lasted through the night. It was good to see that at we all still have our moves, even after climbing past 30!

There was plenty of bubbly to share, which brought toasts to good friends, times to remember, nights to forget, and years to come. And it wouldn't quite be New Years without the confetti!

Here's to wishing all of you a fortunate, healthy, and meaningful 2012. With all our love,

Sweet Miracle

Being a mom is truly the best job in the world. With kids you get hugs and kisses when you're having a rough day, you see their smile and hear their silly questions, you watch their intuition drive their activities and interests, you are continually teaching them life's worth and instilling your own values. Then, there comes a moment when you sit back and watch the choices that they make, coach as often as you can, let them explore, provide guidance, witness their learning and always protect them. Having children has taught me all about sharing and giving, negotiating and probing, leading and following, loving and teaching. Most importantly, it has taught me never to take a moment for granted.

Being an aunt is even more. It's all these things and friendship; it's about role-modeling and mentoring. Kids search beyond their parents for that idol because they realize that their parents are interested in safety, not popularity. But aunts and uncles provide an acceptance, a sounding board, and a realistic opportunity to ask real-life questions and accept real-life answers. I know because of the impact that my aunts had on my life.

In just four short months, I'll be an aunt and it'll be my chance to give back all the insight and friendship that I was given. And as my baby sis and her hubby await this sweet miracle, it's their opportunity to feel all the emotion that parenting brings. It's a true love that you can never fully explain.

Little One, you will be the sunshine of their lives. You will change lives, and you will be forever loved... not only by them, but by us too. We can't wait to hold you in April.

A special birthday

Grandma, you really are the best we could ever ask for! Happy happy birthday to you!
As Caden put it, Grandma and Urlacher are both 54!!!

'Tis the Season

I'm typically the one who kicks off the season in August, requesting and developing wish lists. Things were different this year. Between getting two kids in school, starting a new job and moving the family, we didn't get started until after Thanksgiving. Not all bad though. We surely lived up the moment of thankfulness in 2011. But come 8 p.m. on Thanksgiving evening, I grabbed my shopping plan, called my girlfriend, and we headed out for 12 hours of Christmas shopping. And, so, Black Friday became the kick off to the season. We slurped a Starbucks, our eyes went cross-eyed, our feet were in pain, but we stuffed the van full of gifts for all!

The next day, our family headed out for the traditional choosing and cutting of the Christmas tree.

This experience dates me back to my childhood, year after year. I remember trudging through the tree farm in snowpants bundled so tightly that I could barely walk, helping mom and dad pick out the BEST tree around, and then feeling like I was really helping to cut down the tree. Now my kids are doing the same thing...

After lugging it back to the car, tying it on top, and driving home wishing I could see it from inside the car, we were always anxious to get it in the house to see if it really would fit. Funny how the same thoughts and excitement run through my little ones as well.

After the dreading task of getting the dumb tree to stand straight in the [insert every cuss word you can think of] stand, we begin the decoration process! As children, the hubby and I each ironically received a Hallmark ornament relating to our interests each year. Today, we have our 31 years of memories, plus the beginning of Cade and Layna's collections as well. It makes for a good story each season, and even a few jokes about Jarin's pink car and cardinal bird ornaments!


This year, during our day of decorating, Odie showed up. He brought with him a book explaining his existance and the mission that Santa charged him with -- to watch over the kiddos each day. The little imaginations ran wild with questions when they found out that Odie has magical powers to fly to the North Pole each night to share his observations.

Then it was on to the outside of the home for a little skill on the ladder! Very proud of my husband for reaching all the peaks. He's such a dare devil! He even wooed the little man by letting him pick out a lit reindeer for the front yard. And for all of you who know my style... you probably also know my thoughts on that!

My task was to design and order the Christmas cards. Okay, so the reality is that the photo was the work of Images by Miss Kate, and the card design was completed with the ease of Shutterly. So maybe I can't take full credit, and neither can I promise that they'll reach all of you in time for the holiday. However, here's a sneak peek just in case!