Just Like Daddy

Saturday Brad, Braden and I spent the morning working in the yard. Brad was trimming the hedges and Braden was VERY interested in what he was doing. I remebered that Santa had brought Braden a chainsaw for Christmas and he wasn't interested in it at the time so I put it away. After getting it for Braden and showing him how it worked he followed Brad around the yard "helping Daddy cut the leaves". He was so cute. When Brad would put his hedge trimmer on the back of the truck for a minute Braden would sit his right beside it and when Brad would stand back to check what he missed Braden would follow him and stand right beside him to check it out. It was so precious!

Too Cute for Words...

Fat Belly Too

Brad, Braden and I were laying on the bed and Braden was jumping around like he usually does and Brad was warning him to stay away from my belly. We were showing him where the baby is and he was saying "hey baby". He looked over at Brad and started telling Brad that he had a baby too. Brad said, "No I just have a fat belly". Braden responded by lifting my shirt, looking at my belly and saying, "Mommy has a fat belly (be-wee) too".

It was so funny! Brad and I started cracking up laughing and Brad was trying to explain to him that under NO circumstances do you ever tell a woman that they have a fat belly! So cute!

Braden and Fat Belly Mommy!

Amazed

For You created my inmost being,

you knit me together in my mother's womb.

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

your works are wonderful,

I know that full well.

My frame was not hidden from you

when I was made in the secret place.

When I was woven together in the depths on the earth,

your eyes saw my unformed body.

All the days ordained for me

were written in your book

before one of them came to be.

Psalm 139:13-16

I am amazed by God and the job that he has given me. It is a huge job. Much bigger than I ever expected it to be. Somedays I am overwhelmed with my job. It is the type of job that can make the most confident person doubt their abilities. Most days I question if I am doing a good job....if I am doing enough...if I am doing it right. But everyday I am rewarded. And thankful. I am so happy to be a mom. And I have to admit that today is the first day that I have thought of myself as a mom of 2!

If you know me well then you probably know that our newest blessing was quite the surprise. I am a control freak which I openly admit and MY plan was not to get pregnant until July or August which would give us a nice due date somewhere in April or May. However, I have been very humbled by our little December addition. Each time that I found out I was expecting I have been overcome with excitement, fear, worry. This time my worry has not just been about me or this unborn child that I am carrying, but also about Braden and how this child will come along and completely rock his very solid little world. Is this fair to him? And then I know the answer because I can't imagine a world without my little brother and I know that I am far more blessed to have shared these last 24 years with him then I was the 3 before he arrived.

I am amazed when I think of this baby that is really just a mass of cells growing in to a beautiful baby and then I look at my amazing 2 year old and I realize how amazing creation truly is. How awesome is our God that he can take nothing and create this person with likes and dislikes, opinions, features that may or may not look like me. WOW!

I am amazed this Mother's Day with my two fabulous blessings. One that I know very well, who is opinionated, stubborn, strong willed, loving, loud, sweet, and very persistent. One that has ticklish feet like his daddy and sings just like his mommy (bless his heart). One that is curious and loves to explore, especially ant beds. One who loves aggravating the dog and playing outside. One who asks a million and one questions even if he doesn't want the answer. One who melts my heart when he says "I love you, Momma." And one whom I have never met. One whom I don't even know the gender yet. One who was a surprise and may surprise me again if it decides to come on Christmas (please no!). One whom I am eager to hear the heartbeat, feel the kicks, and meet. One whom I love already though we have never met.

Thank you Father for my blessings and for giving me a love for both of my babies and an acceptance of your perfect timing and will that are so very different from my own. I pray that I can be a mother who teaches my children about your gracious love and a mother who leads by your example and calls on your wisdom during the times when I am at a loss. Thank you for giving me a day to celebrate how special and important being a mom truly is.

Hoffman Family of......

.......4!!!!!!

Easter 2009

I am finally getting to my Easter post. What a week!

Saturday we had a church Easter egg hunt at the Hodges. Braden had a blast! Friday evening i hid eggs in the yard and gave him his basket and let him "hunt" so he was familiar with the concept on Saturday at the hunt and a pro by Sunday when we had our annual Easter get together at my parent's with our family.

Sunday morning Braden woke up around 8:00 and we did Easter bunny stuff. He got a sand and water table, Nemo dvd, cook book, sunglasses (he is crazy about sunglasses) and a few eggs filled with candy which he polished off in no time! Brad and I got ready for church while Braden played with his new stuff and then we headed to church to meet my parents. I had the toddlers on Easter,but I heard that the message was awesome. After church we headed to my parent's house to take Easter pics and lay Braden down for a nap before everyone arrived. I think that Braden felt the excitement because rather than napping for the hour and half that he was in his room he destroyed it! He pulled all of his toys out and pulled all of the extra stuff that I brought out of my bags! We had an awesome lunch with TONS of food and then an Easter egg hunt. I bought an Easter pinata and the kids had a blast trying to bust it open. It was a great Easter! By Sunday night I was exhausted from our super busy weekend.

Church Easter egg hunt on Saturday.

Checking out his Easter bunny stuff

Hunting for eggs....he liked to stop and eat some of the candy along the way




Rice Krispy Nests

Easter Post Coming Soon....

Super busy week + sinus infection = no Easter post.....Hopefully this weekend!

Dyeing Easter Eggs

Yesterday my cousin's son, Cohen, came over to dye Easter eggs with Braden. They had a great time plopping the eggs in the dye!

After they dried, Braden decorated the eggs with stickers and even cracked a few!

Easter Eggs

I saw this idea in my Paula magazine and wanted to try them. I was starting to think it was a stupid idea since it took so long, but I am pleased with the end result. My hope is that Braden will be able to keep these eggs FOREVER (especially considering the time and effort I put into these stinking eggs), but Brad has informed me that since he is a boy he highly doubts that he will care! Anyway...here they are 3 days and 9 coats of paint later.... YES I SAID 9!

Things I Wish I Knew Before I Became a Mom...

I usually don't watch Oprah, but I was at my parent's house on Monday and my mom and I were watching it together. It was all about being a mom and a lot of it was about things you didn't before you were a mom....you know those things that people never tell you and you just kind of have to learn them on your own, but then you realize that most moms are dealing with the same things they just don't ever talk about them. So here goes....things I never knew before I was a mom and things that I struggle with about being a mom.

• Listening to the radio will never be the same. I have not listened to the "regular" stations for any lengthy amount of time since Braden was about 6 months old. All that I have listened to are nursery rhyme CDs and kids songs. I miss the radio!


• Breast feeding is hard.....all that you hear are the benefits of breast feeding and there are many, however it is not for everyone and you shouldn't beat yourself up if you can't or choose not to do it.


• Your life is not your own anymore. This is not a bad thing it just takes some getting used to. Everyday all day there is another little life that depends on you and this begins from the minute you conceive. This precious gift sucks everything out of you- your energy, your body, even some of your hobbies because you just don't have the time for them anymore


• I can't watch the news without freaking out when I hear about a child that drowned at the babysitter's house or escaped from their daycare and got ran over by a car. It hits me so hard that I just have to stop and pray for that mother because I cannot imagine a worse pain than losing your child.


• You realize that parenting is THE hardest job on earth and you think twice before you judge the mom with the screaming kid at the grocery store. You realize that she is doing the best that she can.


• I loved Braden before I even conceived him. I prayed for my child before I even became pregnant, but when they laid him on my chest after I gave birth he was a stranger in many ways. I carried him for 40 weeks, I had seen pictures of him in my belly, I felt his movements and I counted the many days until his arrival, but I didn't KNOW him. It is ok to feel this way, in fact I bet that if more people were honest they would admit to feeling the same way. It takes time to learn about this new little person, what they like and dislike and what makes them tick and just because you don't feel an immediate knock your socks off connection with your child does not mean that you don't love them more than anything in this world. It takes time to bond.


• I truly believe that I suffered from a mild case of post pardom after Braden was born. At the time I didn't realize it,but looking back I can see the train wreck that I was. I have never been an overly emotional person. I don't cry over just anything, but I spent the first 3 weeks after Braden was born crying. I like to have control and for the first time in my life I felt like I had absolutely no control over anything. He didn't sleep when I needed sleep, he cried and fussed and was hungry when it wasn't his scheduled time to eat. I had small panic attacks whenever 6pm rolled around because it meant that night was coming and I didn't know what the night was going to hold: was i going to be able to sleep, was he going to scream and cry all night? When Brad went back to work my mom would come and stay with me for part of the day and I would pace the floor until she arrived and cry when she left. I would count down the hours until Brad got home. I just needed someone to be with me. When Braden would wake up in the middle of the night, after I would nurse him and rock him to sleep, I would cry because I felt so unworthy of the incredible gift that God had given me. After the first 3 weeks I felt much better and like I had somewhat of a grasp on life with a newborn.


• The days of sleeping in on a Saturday morning are gone. If we get to sleep until 7:30 am it feels like the best thing in the world.


• It will be LONG time before you can enjoy a dinner out at a restaurant with your child. Just in the past 3 or 4 months have we been able to take Braden to a nice sit down, order a salad and entree restaurant and been able to enjoy the WHOLE meal. It is wonderful! But just get used to take out for a while if you actually want to enjoy your meal.


• I L-O-V-E my job. I enjoy going to work. I truly do. However, each morning that I drop Braden off at my parent's house I feel a twinge of guilt for leaving him. I'm sure that all working mothers do and I am certain that if my parents didn't watch him I could NOT leave him.


• Forget about stopping on the way home to grab a loaf of bread. Or pick up a prescription. Or grab dinner from a restaurant that isn't drive through. UNLESS you plan on getting a sleeping child, or a 30 pound carrier or a 30 pound child from the car. All of the simple errands aren't quite so simple any more.

I am thankful to the women who have talked to me honestly about their struggles with being a mom. I have written this in the hopes that someone who is a new mom or is thinking about becoming a mom will know that whatever struggles you are going through or have encountered you are not alone. I promise you that somewhere at least one other mom has been through the same thing. And we are NOT perfect. Being a mom is A LOT of trial and error. It is ok to mess up. Your child will still love you and admitting your fears, worries, and mistakes can only help you to become a better mom.

Name That Tune...

***If you can't hear the video scroll to the bottom and click on the speaker under My Music to turn off the volume.***

VERY Busy Birthday Week

I have had the best birthday week! I LOVE birthdays! I believe that they are the one truly unique and special day to celebrate yourself and the very unique and special person that you are! When March rolls around I usually start driving Brad crazy with the "It's my birthday month" talk, but this year it took me a while to get excited. Maybe it is old age or maybe it is the fact that now I seem to get more excited about Braden's birthday. I don't know...Anyway my birthday week rolled around and it was fabulous! I have not cooked dinner since last Sunday! WOW! Here are some of the highlights....

• Sunday- nap with Braden after church then my parents cooked birthday dinner and my mom made my favorite coconut cake. My Granny and grandfather ate with us and brought my favorite fruit salad! YUM!


• Monday- my brother took me to eat at Frontera! DELICIOUS! Plus I love hanging out with my brother!


• Tuesday- my Granny's birthday (Happy 7? birthday Granny!)


• Wednesday- dinner at Pacho's with Brad and Braden


• Thursday (my actual birthday)- my dad made me muffins and put a candle in one and sang Happy Birthday when I dropped Braden off on my way to work. Ms. Creal (my para) had my classroom decorated, made me a carrot cake the day before, had balloons and daisies in a red pot for me and helped my students make me a class book about why they love me. And her son brought lunch to the school for us. One of my student's parents brought me a coconut cake and a coconut pie and Krysti made her FAMOUS gooey chocolate cake for me and my class to eat. It's the only chocolate cake I like! AWESOME! Then my amazing husband got off work early and we went to eat dinner at Milano's with my wonderful family and my precious son was FABULOUS at dinner!


• Friday- I started feeling yucky...Brad picked up Chick-fil-A and I went to bed early


• Saturday- still felt yucky... Braden actually slept in until 8:30! WOO HOO!Brad's parents came and spent the afternoon and we had a nice dinner at Red Lobster and once again Braden was AWESOME while we were eating (Does anyone else see why I am avoiding the 2nd child? We finally made it to a point where we can eat dinner out and enjoy ourselves! :)


• Sunday- Braden sleeps in until 8:15! We met my parents in Madison to watch my brother and his dog Buck in his Field Trial test. We ate at Pizza Hut and I have gone 8 straight days without cooking! I felt better this morning, but now I feel yucky again!

Tomorrow reality begins again....my birthday week is over and I will be cooking Hamburger Helper for dinner tomorrow night!

A few pics from the week!

Napping with Braden on Sunday (he had the flu)

My Granny with my mom, Aunt Joy and Aunt Bea

My sweet boy today at the Field Trial test for Buck

Oh My Diamond....

.....these are the words that Braden sings to the song "Oh My Darling, Clementine".

Here are some of the other things that he is saying now:

• He stands in front of the pantry door and says, "let's see". Hmmm...I wonder who does that!




• Hold a finger= hold my hand




• Mommy com'ere= Mommy come here




• Avey= Avery and it is usually in context of "Avey stop"




• Holdle= hold & cuddle combined




• What'cha doin'= we hear this all the time




• His new one is "mommy get up"..like I ever have a chance to sit down around him!




• He is making lots of sentences like"Daddy play blocks with me".




• He speaks mostly in third person which I figured out is my fault since I refer to him in third person..Braden's shoes, Braden's backpack....I have seen the error of my ways! :)




• He sings most of the words to his favorite songs...Wheels on the Bus, Twinkle Twinkle, Oh My Darling, etc.

St. Patrick's Day Project

This past week while I was looking for ideas to use with my class I came across this cute project that I thought I could try with Braden at home. I knew that it would be too easy for my class at this point in the year and too hard for Braden because it involved cutting pieces of green paper and I am NOT giving my just turned 2 year old scissors, but with a few modifications it was a success!

Materials:

Shamrock pattern, green construction paper, q-tips, glue

Here are the directions:

1. Draw or print a shamrock template (I drew my own- 3 hearts and a stem)

2. Cut out shamrock- if you have older children they can do all of the cutting for this project

3. Cut out small pieces of green construction paper

4. Use shamrocks to smear on the glue (I tinted my glue with green food coloring so that it would be easier for Braden to know where he had already applied the glue)

5. Place green construction paper on shamrock and allow to dry!

Braden had so much fun smearing the glue with the q-tips and putting the construction paper on the shamrock. This was his first time using glue and he did a great job!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Moonpie Designs Giveaway

If you like awesome custom made bibs, burp cloths, and aprons check out Moonpie Designs for an awesome giveaway! Make sure you tell Stephanie that I sent you!

Granny is on The 'Net

My Granny is surfing the Internet! She had my cousin come up and set her computer up which I think is totally cool for my Granny to do! How empowering! So I just want to give a shout out to my Granny for being brave enough to venture into unfamiliar territory! Granny- You're my hero! I love you!

I know my Granny is going to complain about this picture, but I love it!

Bag of Hope

Brad's branch has been helping a non profit business called the AMANDAWE SUPPORT GROUP and the Bag of Hope. Bag of Hope gives South African women with HIV/AIDS the opportunity to create bags that are sold in the US to raise money to provide education, food, and hope to their children and the children of Zulu, South Africa. Check out the link featuring Brad on their site and take a look at their "bags of hope" also. I really like the colorful bags!

http://www.thebagofhope.com/4.html

Snow!!!!

I am glad that it rarely snow likes this in Georgia....

Yesterday we got to take Braden out in the snow to play. Braden tried to make snowballs, catch snowflakes on his tongue and he loved sliding down his slide into the snow. He kept talking about making snow angels. I don't know where he learned about that from, but I didn't really fancy the idea of him laying in the snow! We had so much fun, but it was SO cold. We got almost 6 inches of snow! After about 30 minutes we headed inside because Braden's hand were freezing. I was not prepared for snow this year!

When we got inside I made hot cocoa for Brad and Braden and then I started working on dinner. And then the power went out. Not a big deal if your home is heated by gas, which ours isn't. Not a big deal if you own a flashlight with working batteries, which we don't. Not a big deal if you weren't starting to freak out about your 2 year old freezing to death in the middle of the night, which I was. (I know, I'm a little dramatic). We decided that we would head to my parents house, but Brad wanted to check the roads. Well he couldn't even back the truck out of the driveway because of all the rain that we had gotten for 2 day and the snow mixture was freezing in the driveway and his back 2 tires on his truck were a little worn. My parents offered to come pick us up, but I didn't want them on the roads (my dad is crazy about snow....he loves it and they left the house to drive around anyway). After talking to my brother and my parents, they said it wasn't as bad in Conyers, we decided to pack up my car and give it a try. The roads were bad around our house and HWY 11, but they got better by the time made it out of Covington. We did see LOTS of wreckers and several cars in the ditch. We headed home early this morning so that Brad could get to work and I-20 was shut down right before our exit. The roads were a little icy. I'm glad we didn't stay home in the dark last night.

I got Braden bundled up when we got home and we headed out to play in the snow again. It was starting to melt off the house, but the snow was really hard and not as fun to play in as it was yesterday. I'm really glad that he got to enjoy the snow and maybe when it snows in another 5 years he can make his snow angels!

Consignment Sale Finds

I have not always been a consignment sale shopper. In fact I used to start itching at yard sales, consignment sales, etc. I would walk away scratching.....I don't know...I'm weird like that. Anyways, when Braden was 9 or 10 months old I went with the intent of looking for a Leap Frog learning table and a Leap Frog Walker. Each are about $40 each in the store and I didn't want to pay that much for them both so I went with my friend Lori. I was so excited when I walked out with the learning table for $8 and the walker for $12. They were both in excellent condition and I brought them home and sanitized them really well and he LOVED the table...he wasn't that impressed with the walker (I'm really glad I didn't spend $40 on the walker).

Since then I have worked 2 consignment sales which means that I can get into the preview sale to see the really awesome stuff and I have sold items also. I don't buy a lot of clothes from the sales just because I am super picky about clothes and I always hit sales at the end of the season at Baby GAP and Children's Place and stock up then, but I have gotten A LOT of great toys. Saturday I went to one sale and I came home with roller skates, a parent's bee bop band, 2 tool sets, a school bus (of course..like we don't have enough), a Leap Frog baby Little Touch Library with 4 books and cartridges and an interactive puzzle, a dump truck Easter basket, a little tikes bowling set (still in the box), baby gap short, osh kosh shirt, old navy shirt, and a life preserver suit for the beach and I only spent $70. Oh and a vacuum cleaner, dust buster and mop (dirt devil kid's one) for my classroom. Here are some of my great deals from this sale and past sales.

Leap Frog walker- my first buy!

This is a see saw that I bought- I sanded it, painted it and it was part of Braden's Easter gift.

This is very UGLY table that I sanded and painted for Braden's playroom.

Braden was so excited about the roller skates. I barely got them cleaned before he put them on and took off. The hard hat and suspenders came with one of the tool sets that I bought him.

Ready for the beach! Doesn't he look like a body builder?!