Sunday Sundae...mmm

What a great, somewhat relaxing, weekend. After all the running around and traveling we have been doing lately I decided we would have a chill weekend and hang tight at the house. It was a good idea because is was cold out. Not cold enough to keep us from going out to play though. On Saturday we went outside so the kids could burn off some energy. They had fun walking on top of the snow because it was so hard you can't actually play with it. Kaeden climbed up to the top of the snow pile and yelled "Mom look at me, I'm the king of the mountain"! You can't really tell by this picture but he is standing on a 6-7 foot drift, he is all the way up to the branches of the tree.

Bella crawled up there with him. She wasn't as excited to be up there as Kaeden was. She was actually scared and wanted me to come up to get her, but what they don't know is that I am actually big enough to fall through that snow. I don't think I could actually ever make it to the top before sinking. She managed to get down on her own with a little coaxing, and after a few trips up and down she wasn't scared at all. Kaeden actually slid down the steep side of the snow pile on his butt a few times and loved it!

Our Sunday dinner wasn't planned out very well. I still do not have a very good selection of ingredients in the house for the dishes I would like to make so I keep scrounging for meals. Tonight I put together some beef stew meet with sauteed onions, red bell peppers, and yellow bell peppers over brown rice. I knew this would not be something Kaeden would be interested in eating. "I don't like that" is all I hear from that boy when it comes to eating. But to my surprise, tonight he ate all of it. Yes, with a little coaxing, but he ate red, yellow, and green peppers(snack), onions, and beef stew meat. I was so happy I decided to reward him with a triple berry shake made by yours truly. I let them watch me make it so they would get pumped up about it. They were making silly faces in this picture of course. It wouldn't be the Maki clan if it weren't silly!

We had enough to have three mugs of it and it was yummy! One question... Should I feel bad as a mom when my 2 1/2 year old daughter says "I like it nice and clean" instead of "I like ice cream" because she doesn't know the difference. Shouldn't every child by that age know what ice cream is? FAIL, FAIL, FAIL!

Kaeden and his silly smiles again!

This is Bella trying to say cheese with a mouth full of triple berry shake.

Good down to the last drop!

It was a good weekend at home, and tomorrow is back to the grind stone, but I am thankful I got to share Sunday sundaes with my babies! Come on next weekend! Luckily my job keeps me so busy that the weeks fly by so at this rate Jess will be home in no time. I need my Big Mak back if you know what I mean!

We LOVE and MISS you Daddy!

Stay safe! Can't wait to have you home!

Flaming Ass Friday- 4 Mar 11

So our squadron has Flaming Ass Friday's (FAF) once a month. FAF as we call it around the office, is a chance for everyone to bring food, eat, and be merry. We also welcome newcomers and all that jazz. This event got it's name from a crock pot of Hot chili that makes an appearance at every FAF. Well, this last Friday we switched it up a little and everyone brought their food down town to the local Curling Club, where we ate, and were merry! We have two league curlers in our squadron who told us the rules and showed us the ropes and sent us all on our way for some "Happy Curling".

This is me taking a practice shot at "throwing rocks". It is actually a lot harder than you might think, and a whole lot more fun that you might think! I can't wait to do it again!

I think this is me being excited because my second shot actually made it all the way down the lane into the "house".

Here is Chief sweeping away trying to make that rock curl so it will stop right on the "button"(the button is the white circle in the center where you hope your rock will stop).

I'm not sure what just happened but it seems to be funny. We are all laughing in this one. Someone probably biffed it. By the end of our 3 hour tour I lost track of how many people fell. No one got seriously hurt though which is good!

Here is Craig and I sweeping away. I didn't really get the sweeping part down until the very end. These pictures make it look like a whole lot of standing around, but it isn't really.

I'm no Pro at Curling, but I am sure this is NOT the way to throw your rock. Poor fella, he's gonna feel that in the morning!

I never thought I would go Curling or think I might enjoy it, but I am learning every day that the more new things I try, the more things I end up liking. When Jess gets home he is going to wonder who I am and what happened to his wife. Ahh, but I am having fun! If you ever get the chance to go Curling but think you might not like it, I am advising you go ahead and give it a chance. Happy Curling!

I love you Daddy!

Be safe and come home soon!

It Has Been Too Long!

It has been quite a while since I have had time to update the blog, and so much has happened! I am sitting in California on a business trip and the kids are staying with Grampa and Gramma for the week, so I FINALLY have a few minutes to update you on all of the ongoings in the Maki household over the last few weeks. The picture you see below is my two little loves fast asleep on the couch. This was taken on a Friday night when the kids and I were having a movie night. Daddy called, and while I was talking to him in the next room the kids fell asleep together all snuggled up and this is how I found them when I got off the phone. Isn't it beautiful to see how much they love each other!

 Saturday morning was fun! I had hung the comferter over our chairs to dry after laundering it, and the kids took the oppurtunity to make it their fort. Oh how I miss the days when things were so simple and something so simple was so much fun!

 The cold winter days outside have made for many long crazy days stuck inside. I have tried to be creative and come up with all kinds of fun stuff for the kids to do. Stickers are always a hit! So, I busted out the craft box and let them go nuts. Bella did just that... she is so addicted to chapstick that she decided to use the gluestick as her chapstick. Little did she know the glue stick would not help to rejuvinate her lips, but it was a little quieter in the house for a few minutes.

 Ahh more crafts! Kaeden and Bello both painted and egg carton that I had cut up for them. Couldn't you just eat her up even with the goofy smiles!

 A couple weekends ago we FINALLY had some nice warm weather. Warm enough to get the kids out on Saturday and Sunday to the park to go sledding at Lincoln Park a few blocks away. Al and Linda came with us on both days and we all had a BLAST! Kaeden started going down the hill on his own, and realized he loved it! After that, there was no stopping him!

 It was a good workout going up and down the hill with them, but even Al and Linda kept up to our little balls of energy.

 I was wise enough to bring hot chocolate in a thermal for the intermission we took in the warming house. The hot chocolate was a hit! And warming up for a few minutes was nice too!

 Of course when you come out of the warming house you can't miss all the play equipment, which is buried in snow, but we still managed to play on that as well. Bella was all dressed up like the kids in the Christmas Story, but she still managed to get around fine. We were playing Peek-a-Boo through the bars.

 And when she got tired of stumbling around in her winter gear she just had Al carry her around.

 Back to the hill! Round two on the hill. Kaeden had learned and loved to go down on his own, but he wanted and needed someone to help him pull his sled back up the hill. Kaeden went first, and then Al would slide down after him in order to pull his sled back up the hill

 After sledding the kids took a nap and at the last minute we Mason and I loaded the kids up to go to Gnomeo and Juliet. The kids really enjoyed the movie, as did Mason and myself. I was a little nervous of taking them wondering if they would sit through the whole movie, but they did pretty good!

 Valentines Day is finally here!!! Gramma Leslie send each of the kids a package in the mail with some Valentine goodies. They are always excited to get things in the mail!

 So after an awesome weekend sledding, and a short week at work, we packed up the truck and headed to Minnesota. They kids love to spend time with all the Fam back in MN, especially all of thier cousings. On Monday when I was getting ready to hit the road for the airport I put makeup on a few of the kdis, but Bella took it upon herself to do her own makeup. I tried to help her get it right but she nearly exploded each time I tried so I let her do her own makeup, and this is what I got! Isn't she beautiful!!!

 Of course they had to check it out in the mirror. Cute little Darlings!

It has definately been a long few weeks. We are all missin Daddy more and more each day. Only four months left baby! I am now in CA for work and will go back home Sunday, but for now I am totally enjoying a few moments to myself, some shopping with friends, and on Firday I get to see my Bestie, Sarah!

But, for now I can't hardly keep my eyes open so I am calling it a night.

We love you Daddy!

Come Home Soon!

Tomorrow Makes 6 Weeks!

Our little fishies swimming in the bathtub! I was thinking, it is a good thing they both still fit in the tub because they love it! They spent an hour or more swimming and playing.

 I always love a cute clean face wrapped in a towel! I know Jesse always likes to get Bella while she is still wrapped in her towel so I though I had better take the picture. Isn't she cute!

 She has grown so tall! Look at her standing next to her crib, she is taller. I was thinking tonight as much as I love her being caged up in the crib, I think she needs a big girl bed. I say this because she has a nasty scrape across her foot that came from the bed somehow, somewhere. And when I walked into her room tonight she was hanging with one foot above the rail, and the bed is sat as low as it will go. I will have to start shopping around before we have a two year old with broken legs.

 And Kaeden next to his bed to show how tall he is getting, plus the GQ look he wanted to give. Isn't he cute!

 Kaeden is getting better at taking pictures with the camera, and he always asks to do it. I had to lean into the picture a little, but there I am, and I was directed by Kaeden to put my arms up :0)

 The kids are loving having Bailey around. They love yo pretend that they are puppies too! Bailey looks like she is wondering what the heck is going on here...

 So, they let her in too!

 After cleaning up breakfast the kids spent some time playing in the play room and when I went to check on them, they were both wearing hats. Too cute!

 I can't believe how much Kaeden looks like Daddy with his new hair cut and the hat on! So cute I just want to kiss him.

 Hello! Here is Bailey laying comfortably on the couch and saying "hello".

 While Bella was napping, Kaeden and I worked hard on some cooking and baking. I am making a meal or two each weekend and freezing half so I can use it for lunches and quick dinners. I also made some pumpkin bread tonight, and Kaeden wanted to make cookies. I still have some of the precut cookies around and thought it was a perfect idea. He was thrilled!

 When Bella woke up we had lunch ready and waiting so we all sat down to eat. Compliments to the chef! Bella kept telling me "Mommy I like maki-cheese"!

 And of course the mad face.

 Kaeden said he didn't like it, but he still ate it because of the lingering smell of fresh cookies that I told him he could not have unless he ate his lunch.

 And here is his mad face.

 After lunch they were full of energy, and were hopping around the house like frogs saying "ribbit".

 And here are Kaedens cookies! Yum! When I put them away tonight there were only 5 left. hehe.

 Here is the pumpkin break that I made. I haven't tasted it yet, but I will be taking some into work tomorrow to share if anyone wants to stop by and have a slice.

 It has been a long weekend and the kids were getting on my nerves tonight so we when out to Sam's Club and got a few items. It is COLD out there! Then we came back home and visited with Al and Linda and back to our house for bedtime. Bella when to bed and I let Kaeden stay up a little longer. I helped him put together a puzzle as I cleaned up the kitchen. He was so proud of himself and wanted to send Daddy a picture of it. Isn't he sweet!

Well, we have 18 weeks left until Daddy comes home, and we can't wait. So far we have been plugging right along and trying not to focus on how much we miss him, but the fact is we do miss Daddy! The kids are both very involved in knowing where he is and why he is there and that we get to send him stuff in the mail, which they really love! We can't wait to have you home Daddy!

Stay Safe!

One Awesome Week!

I have so many things to Thankful for! I got to take a week of vacation in between my "old job"and my "new job", and I got to spend it with many of the most important people in my life! Originally I was going to leave work early on my last day but the weather prevented that, so I waited until Saturday morning to take off for my long 8 hour drive. The drive was good and we made it home just fine. Saturday night we had a movie night at Sarah's cabin with the whole family, and Allison and her girls. The kids played and we watched Grown Ups. We did dinner at mom and dad's because the hill to the cabin is a little treacherous, and we can't get Dad's van up there without towing him. Sunday we all went sledding down the hill witch seconds as a driveway to the cabin. It was so much fun! I haven't been sledding in years and it was just as much fun as I remember. We would all sled down the hill and then Mom would pick us up with the Explorer and drive us back to the top so we could go again. The little ones spent more time riding in the car in order to keep warm.
This is only about 1/3 of the length of the hill. I think Beth wiped out about 6 times in one run!

Bella staying warm.

Kaeden staying warm.

Emily staying warm.

Me with my amazing SISTERS! Sarah is on the left, me in the middle, and Beth on the right.



My sister Sarah and her best friend and husband Raleigh.

After a fun couple of hours sledding we had to get inside, warm up, and get something to eat. Kaeden refuses to eat what we call good food. He only eats cereal, claiming that he doesn't like anything else. So Beth got him some cereal and the box was empty, so she gave it to him to wear on his head. He was so funny prancing around with a cereal box on his head!

And look how big Eli is getting! He is nine months old now and you would never know he came early with how big he has gotten. He is crawling around now and even cruising furniture. Look at his beautiful big blue eyes! I love to cuddle him, but every time Sarah walks in the room he wants her and crawls right back out of my arms to get his Mamma. And Gracie is taking a big bite out of her burger. She is Beth's youngest baby, and she won't cuddle me for too long either but I still love to squeeze her when I get the chance!

Sarah took a picture of me fresh out of the warm shower after sledding. Notice the LONG hair.

On Monday my cousin came to Mom and Dad's house to cut my Dad's hair, and she did me a favor and cut the kids hair since Jess took the clippers with him to Iraq and Kaeden was definitely due for a trim. For two years he has had his Mohawk, and would not agree to let me cut it when I asked, but he let Megan cut it off. Now he has a hair cut like his Daddy, and he looks so much like Daddy with his new haircut that I just want to kiss him all the time! He played with Lego's every day at Bucka and Grampa's house.

Tuesday and Wednesday came and went so fast I didn't even have a chance to get any pictures, but Tuesday we did another dinner with the family, and Wednesday I went to dinner with Allison. I like getting together with Allison just the two of us without kids so we can catch up. Thursday morning I got everything packed up and ready to go for the drive up to the cities for Dorthy's birthday party at Psycho Suzies (dinner) and Pickle Park (drinks and dancing). Mom and Amanda came with me to help celebrate Dorothy's birthday. We had so much fun! My favorite was dancing with Dorothy. Thank You Gramma Leslie for watching the kids so we could go out. We all had a lot of fun. Even Jesse's aunt Rite and her man Pat came out to celebrate! It was so much fun! Here is a picture of all us girls taking a break from the dance floor. Left to right: Amanda, Dorothy, ME, Mom, Rita. Notice the short hair! Thanks for the cut Megan!

Friday we packed up again! Mom and Amanda went home, and the kids and I went with Gramma Leslie to the cabin. YAY! The kids had so much fun! They loved playing with the toys that seem so new when really they are always there but they see them so rarely that they seem new. Kaeden found a Spiderman Frisbee and Gramma Leslie showed him the right way to throw it. He was doing pretty good and could launch it all the way across the living room.

Our new puppy Bailey was enjoying a little snooze on the couch. She's so pretty!

Bella and Kaeden both got the sniffles throughout to weeks adventures, but still ran around like little crazy people. Look at how beautiful her blue eyes are!

She was having fun with Grampa! She would crawl up in his lap to "Nuggo" and he would pick her up by the legs and drop her back onto his lap making bomb exploding sounds. She would tell him hands or legs, and after running off to play she would come back for more bombings.

Saturday after the kids went down for a nap, Grampa Dave, Gramma Leslie, and I decided to get in the hot tub with three bottles, yes three, of champagne. We were a little runk! But it was FUN!!! A toast to Jesse's SAFE return!

CHEERS!!!

I have to show off my fancy swimming suit! I didn't not think with the cold weather we have been having that I would need to pack a swimming suit so Leslie dug out some of her old suits for me to wear. Can you guess which era this one is from? HOT HOT HOT!!!

After our champagne we headed to the Cajun in hopes that we could skype Jess. Bummer! We didn't get to see him on skype, but he did call while we were there. We also played pull tabs and WON! It is so much fun to win for a  change!

Sunday morning, time to pack up AGAIN! Kaeden was loving playing games on the Wii. He did pretty good for his first time playing Super Mario Brothers. Grampa was helping he fly a plane just before we loaded up in the car for our long ride home.

Bella was playing with Bailey.

And X was doing what he usually does...

That pretty much wraps up our week. We all had so much fun, and enjoyed spending time with all of our friends and family! The drive home was scary! Blowing snow and four foot drifts across both lanes with no snow plows to be seen. I had to drive 30 miles and hours for the last hour and a half. But, we made it home safely and Al and Linda helped my get the truck unloaded into the house. A long week, a long drive home, a long blog (thanks for hanging in there), and tomorrow I start the gym, and my new job! Good night!

Stay SAFE Daddy! We miss you and we LOVE you!!!