When You Give A Mom A Bedroom Set

When you give a mom a gorgeous, to die for, brand new bedroom set (pictures coming soon..very soon), she is going to want to vacuum the room floor to help the room feel even more new and fresh.

While she is vacuuming the room, she looks at ALL the carpet and the carpeted stairs and decides to vacuum the house.


While vacuuming the house, mom notices the horribly dirty wood floor that is almost everywhere on the main floor of the house. So, mom decides to mop the..





While mopping the wood floor, mom notices the dirty counters. So, mom pulls out the cleaner and scrubs and disinfects the ...


While scrubbing the counters, mom notices the dirty splotched cupboards, so mom decided to wipe down all of the...
While wiping down all the cupboards, mom takes a peek inside. AAGHH, time to organize the food in the cupboards.



While organizing and cleaning the cupboards, mom notices all the dirty spots and fingerprints on the doors. So mom decides to go through the house and wipe down all of the...


While wiping down the doors, mom looks out the window while taking a break. Mom notices the dirty windows, so she get the other cleaner and cleans all of the ....



While cleaning all of the windows, mom sees every room in the house. Yikes, the rooms need some tidying up, so mom organizes all of the ....



While cleaning and organizing the rooms, the kids get hungry, so mom goes to the kitchen to make lunch. Mom opens the fridge and freezer...yikes! Mom gets lunch and while the kids are eating, organizes and cleans the...



While cleaning the fridge, mom goes to the bathroom to wash her hands. Mom remembers last weeks barf all over the place and, even though she cleaned up after each episode, mom suddenly feels really nasty. So mom decides to disinfect and scrub down all of the ....


After scrubbing down the bathrooms, mom begins a movie for the tired children. She looks at the entertainment center, and notices a layer of dust. So, mom gets a new rag and more cleaner and dusts the house. She also gets out the wood polish and dusts and cleans all of the....


While mom is dusting, she notices some (100's) of pictures that need to be placed in albums in chronological order, so mom starts organizing all of the...


While organizing the pictures, mom sees the computer. Time for a break,after all, she has been cleaning for 6 hours! How about blogging! Ooohhh wait, look at the computer desk, what a mess, it could use some organizing......

Sam's Song

Sam loves the song "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" and he sings it all the time. It is one of the cutest things I have ever heard. My heart turns to butter every time I hear his little voice singing those words all mixed up and spoken 1/2 way right. Every time I pull out the camera though, he stops singing. I FINALLY got it on video, but I assure you, he can sing it way better than he does in the footage I got. He normally sings the song all the way through, and you can understand it. He kind of gives up half way through this time and starts singing his own tune, then comes back to the song. This will give you an idea though. I am still following him around with the camera hoping against hope that I can get him singing it loud and clear. Enjoy.


While trying to catch the song on video, I caught something else that is just as precious. When Sam gets shy from the attention being on him, he has his own way of diverting the attention. He will get a shy little smile on his face and then his hand will shoot out and he will softly pinch your face or arm or stomach or whatever and pretend to eat you. It is HILARIOUS!!! He truly will pretend to eat you bit by bit when he is shy, in order to divert attention. In my opinion, all it does is draw even more attention and lots of laughter. He cracks me up.
Here is footage of Sam "eating" Ben because he is shy of the camera being on him.



And yes, that ugly, big huge king mattress on the floor has served as our bed for the past 5yrs of our marriage. We got it at the D.I. for $20. It has served us well, but it is way past it's time to go. TODAY we are headed to the furniture store to order our BRAND NEW GORGEOUS BEDROOM SET!!! We found it this weekend, and we really like it! I am sooooooo excited, I can hardly wait. We both love it and are so excited to have a beautiful, sleek, elegant (but not too elegant)masculine (but not too masculine) bedroom, that actually looks like a bedroom! Yippee Skippee!!!
Next will come the comforter, sheets and all sorts of fun fancy decorative pillows. I just need to make the decision on the colors I have been debating on. It will be so fun! I LOVE HOME DECOR!

More Birthday Celebration

I decided I should post some pictures of Sam's cake, because it took A LOT of work. It isn't the prettiest cake in the world, but I was proud of it, and Sam loved it! He even knew what it was supposed to be. It was actually really fun making it, just time consuming. It tasted soooooo good too.




We had a few adventures the night of Sam's Birthday which cut some celebration time short, so we continued the celebrations on Saturday at the Denver zoo...it was great!
I have a cousin in Denver whose daughter turned 2 the day before Sam. She is adorable! We had such a fun time at the zoo with them. The weather was perfect!! It was a fun day. We love hanging out with family. I have to say my favorite part of the zoo was the exhibit with the elephant, rhino, and the hippo. They were so cute! Mary loved the giraffes (the baby was only a week old) and Sam loved it all. Not sure what Ben liked the most...probably talking about skiing with Kevin. ;)



I guess I will tell about our adventure on Sam's Birthday.
We went to Little Ceasers to get pizza, because that is Sam's favorite food. We planned on bringing it home and eating it while opening presents and celebrating. While I was in the store getting the pizza, I heard our car horn honking and saw people running around. I immediately got concerned about Ben and the kids who were waiting for me in the car.
Apparently, the guy parked next to us, tried to back out, and hit our car. He then continued to scrape along the side of our car in order to get out. Ben was honking our horn at him to get his attention. The guy knew what he was doing and quickly finished scraping our car and sped off.
Ben and another lady were able to get the license plate number, and the owner of Little Cesears was able to print off a picture of the guy from their security cameras. Unfortunately, the guy was in a stolen car so there was no way to track him. The whole process took a LONG time, so we ended up eating pizza in the car while filling out the police report.
While eating pizza in the car, we accidentally spilled the whole container of tomato sauce ALL over Mary's blanket and pillow. Ben didn't see it happen because he was outside talking to the officer. We went to another store after that, and it was freezing (random wind and snow storm), so Ben grabbed the blanket and wrapped Sam in it and ran into the store. Once in the store, we discovered that Ben and Sam were both covered in tomato sauce. I am talking, totally covered here. Not just a spot here and a spot there. It was a mess!!! Not much to do after that but laugh or cry. We chose to laugh at this one.
It was a crazy night, but it still ended well. We got a free dinner out of it (whatever we want next time we go there...yippee), and the kids also got some toys from the owner.
Our good neighbors Mike and Mel came over with a gift for Sam later that night, and stayed to hang out for a while. We had a lot of fun with them. Sam loves the gift they gave him as well. We all went to bed happy and laughing about the night.

Happy Birthday Sammy Boy

Sam turned two today! Time flies sooooooo fast. Sam is one of those toddlers that seems like they will just always be a toddler. I can't really see him growing up and being a big kid and stuff. It breaks my heart actually. He is just my baby boy, and I want to keep him that way. I feel like after this Birthday, he just can't have anymore. Three sounds like too big of an age for Sam. Two is just right. He is so sweet and adorable just the way he is.
Sam is SUCH a little sweetheart. We always say that Sam has big eyes, big cheeks and big feelings. He is so full of kisses and loves. And his heart is just big enough for everything. He is such a softie.
Sam was a very good infant. His birth went really well too. His full name is Benjamin Samuel Maynard. We actually called him Ben for the first 2 1/2 months after he was born. Then we switched it to Sam and confused everyone, especially Mary. When you would ask her what her new baby's name was, she would say "Benjamin, Sam, Ben, Samuel Maynard." Yikes! It is all figured out now, and Sam fits him perfectly.
Sam came out with cheeks so big that they sagged below his jaw bone. It was amazing! Oh man, he was so adorable and so handsome. He was a major cuddler and just liked to be held. He has a very content little spirit.
Sam is still a good natured kid naturally, but of course, is going through the 2's stage right now. He is still a sweetheart though. He will cry or hit or something, but then he always feels bad and gives you the "I'm sorry" look with his big blue puppy dog eyes.
Sam currently is totally into jumping off of EVERYTHING. It is amazing. Nothing seems to be too high for him. He is all about cause and effect. He also loves to do gymnastics with Mary..and I must say, he is really good. Cracks me up.
Sam also LOVES LOVES LOVES animals. He loves to talk to them, pet them, feed them, hold them, ect. He has a special soft spot for kittens. He loves to crawl on all fours and meow at them and pet them. Maybe he will grow up to be a zoo keeper.
Sam and Mary are best buddies. I love watching them together and watching the special bond they share. Sam adores Mary, and Mary loves to have a playmate and a friend.
I feel so blessed to have such a sweet little boy in my life. We all love him so much. Our home would be such a different place without his sweet spirit here to bless it. He is so special and he is such a precious part of our family. We love you Sammy boy...Happy Birthday.

The "Fast Card"

I am so happy to report that all of us are over the crud. We are loving feeling healthy and happy again! The sun is out, the sickness is gone, and we are going to play! Yippee!
Now that we are all feeling MUCH better and we have more energy, I decided to video the kids doing their favorite race game. Mary named it the "fast card." I have no idea why, but it cracks me up, so I will leave it at that.
I wish I could have gotten the speed in which they do this on video, but I couldn't. Seriously, I used to do this as a kid, but I never did it nearly as fast as they do. It is sooooooooooo funny to watch. Sam can especially get going at crazy speeds. He uses his arms to push himself faster and faster. I laugh so hard every time he does it that fast.
The other day our neighbor came to the door and asked where Sam was. All the sudden we heard this really fast slap slap slap slap, and here came Sam flying down the last two stairs at top speed and continuing on the last foot or two of carpet until he crashed into the couch. We were laughing pretty hard, and then Sam got up and immediately climbed up onto the table and jumped off doing a 180 spin. Such a boy! (however, Mary does the exact same thing)
Just picture what you see on the video happening about 3 times faster, and you will kind of get what it is like normally. Kids will be kids.
This first video is of both kids doing it together. Sorry it is sideways..oops. Just turn your head I guess.


This video is just of Sam. I tried to get him doing it his fastest. I got close, but still not quite as fast as he can go.

Meet John

This is John..say hello to John.



John has served us very well this last week.

Thursday....Mary wakes up at 3:00am throwing up all over the bed (with clean sheets) and eventually makes it to John. Mary spends the day very very sick with fever, chills, body aches, diarrhea, more meetings with John throwing up, and the works.

Friday morning...Mary has another "meeting" with John, and soon after feels much better.

Saturday...everyone is feeling GREAT!!! Valentines day was truly wonderful. It was a day filled with chocolates, gifts, love and family time. Ben and I had a really fun date and discovered the best restaurant in the world to go to on Valentines day. Table covered with rose petals, flowers for me, a free appetizer, candle light, delicious food, aaahhh, it was awesome!!!!!!

Sunday...Ben wakes up in the middle of the night with a nasty stomach ache and has a nice visit with John. After throwing up, he is in bed the rest of the day with body aches, chills, fever, ect. Becky goes to church feeling queezy, but has to accompany the ward choir, with whom she practiced with ONCE before they performed. Gratefully, it turned out very well.

Sunday night...Ben feeling very weak after a few more visits with John, but a tad bit better. Becky...not so good.

Monday morning (1:00am)...Becky has a nice, LONG visit with John, throwing up and unloading anything and everything that could have possibly been in her stomach. Her meeting ends with dry heaving and back to bed. Up until now, she gets to have frequent meetings with John along with body aches, fever, chills, ect.


Thank you John for your time and effort to keep our carpet throw up free and for giving us a place to hang our weary heads.

Our family diet this week...yummy. Great weight loss plan.

Jello, caffeine free diet Coke, Gatorade, and crackers if we can keep them down.

We are holding our breath that Sam can make it through without getting this crud, but we are prepared for the inevitable.

The end. Thanks for reading. I'm going back to bed.

Dang!

Yesterday, I decided to wash all of our blankets and sheets. I was so proud of myself last night when we all went to bed with fresh, clean, and great smelling bedding. I guess my timing was not the best.
I woke up at 2:00 this morning to Mary moaning that her tummy hurt. 20 min. later she had thrown up all over the bedding, the carpet, and eventually got some in the toilet. Poor kid. I felt so bad for her.
She felt better after that, so we covered everything with towels and went back to bed. 2 hours later, it was another round of throwing up for Mary. More messy sheets, more messy carpet, and a very sad little girl.
Mary woke up feeling better this morning, no fever, lots of energy, so she went to gymnastics. I figured she just ate something weird at was over it. When we got home, I decided to bring the rest of the clean laundry up and fold it all and put it away. While I was folding the last of the clothes, in came Mary holding her stomach. Of course, the scenario ends with clean clothes covered in throw up. Dang!
She is now sporting a high fever, but keeps saying she is freezing. Rats! We are all hoping she gets better in time for the Valentine festivities this weekend. I think it will break her heart if she is stuck home all weekend.
And because we are Maynards, and things tend to happen in chunks, Sam also woke up with pink eye, and I woke up feeling like I had been hit by a dump truck. Hooray for us.
Lets just hope we can get rid of the crud quickly. We have a fabulous weekend planned! Keep the miracles coming please!

Miracle of Miracles

(ignore the beer references in the song...just pay attention to the chorus)

Ben went to the orthopedic doctor last week, and the prognosis was grim. Just from looking at his knee and wiggling it, he was pretty sure that Ben tore his MCL, ACL, and hurt his meniscus. Looked to all of us like we needed to plan a date for surgery. The doctor seemed pretty certain, but ordered an MRI just to make sure. Ben got the MRI Monday, and we went back today to talk about the results and most likely, a time to get surgery on the ACL.

I tell you what folks, miracles are real and do happen!! The doctor came in and said he had great news. Ben's ACL is totally fine!!! HIP HIP HOORAY!!! No surgery!!!! Seriously, that is a miracle. The doctor even seemed quite surprised.

Ben did tear his MCL and his PCL, and really bruised the bone. Obviously, his knee is pretty messed up, but it can all heal on its own. He has some therapy that he will be doing here at home, and he is not supposed to ski the rest of the season (yeah right), but he should be good to go within the next few months...if he is a good boy and obeys the doctor.

We are sooooooo happy, especially Ben. We are going out to dinner tonight to celebrate (Ben's suggestion)! Hooray, I can try to take a nap instead of cook dinner! Good news all around!!!!!

MY VALENTINE...FOREVER

Since it is Valentine's Day this week, I have been thinking a lot lately about my special valentine, Ben. I love him so much. I decided to post about him and some of the reasons I love him so much. So, get ready for a trip back to grade school folks, because I am going to do the name letter thingy.

SOME of the reasons I love Ben.

B- Buddy. Ben is just a great buddy. I love how we can just hang out and laugh with each other. We can entertain ourselves for a long time just pulling faces, talking, playing a silly made up game, and just hanging out together.

E- Easy to talk to. Every time I need to talk he is there. He is the best listener in the world. Seriously, he just lets me talk and talk and talk. He can get me to open up about anything, and he can tell right away when something is wrong.


N- Never complains. This is crazy to me, but I honestly can count on one hand how many times I have heard Ben complain. He listens to me rant and rave about how hard life is sometimes, but he doesn't say much about his hard times. He is such an amazing example of doing your duty with a good attitude. He is so humble and patient. It is awesome. I am dang lucky.

J- Just, simply, amazing. I just love Ben. He has so many amazing qualities. When we met, we immediately hit it off. I loved everything about this man that had just come into my life, and that love has only grown over the years. We connected, and that connection has been so strong ever since. I am so grateful I have him in my life.

A- Amazing father. I love watching Ben with our kids. His love for them shows so strongly when he is with them. He adores our little kiddos. He never complains when I have something to do, and he is alone with the kids for long periods of time. I really appreciate that. I also love that I can see so much of Ben in our kids. It makes me smile.

M- Mellow. I love that Ben is so mellow and even with his moods and actions. (so opposite me) He is such a rock. He is a man that is solid and sure, and it takes a LOT to rock his boat. I LOVE that in a man.

I- In tune. Ben is very in tune with the spirit, with me, and with our kids. He is conscious of all of our needs and is very aware with what goes on with our family. He exercises his priesthood in such a loving and sacred manner. I love the way he is such a rock with his faith as well. He is very in tune with the spirit, and is ready and willing to listen when he feels prompted to do something.

N- Not lazy. I know this is weird, but I love having a husband who has so much love for the outdoors and for active things. We are so alike in this area and it makes life a lot of fun. When he gets into the mountains, his spirit just soars. I love watching him in his element. I love getting out in the mountains with him, hiking with him, exploring with him, playing sports with him, working out with him in the gym while he works his sizzlin' hot muscles, ect. His build is to die for! I love it!

The list doesn't end there, but his name does, so I guess I will stop. There are so many more reasons I love my hunny, and the list will only keep growing and growing as we continue on in life together. I am so grateful for Ben and I am so grateful that the Lord gave him to me. How blessed I am. Love you babe!

Mary's Talk

Last week Mary was assigned to give a talk in primary this Sunday. The topic was "I was sent to Earth as part of a family." Mary drew pictures of each member of the family as well as a picture of herself with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.

We practiced her talk all week. Mary is not shy at all at home, or once you get to know her, but if you stick her in front of a big group of people and ask her to talk..she is about as shy as they come.

Needless to say, she stood up there and I gave the talk. The fact that she stood there was pretty great though. And she did actually begin the talk on her own. I ruined it by moving the microphone down by her face. It made a horrible noise, scared Mary, and that was that.

So, as proof that she knew her talk VERY well, (she actually had it memorized), here it is. And here are the ADORABLE pictures she drew herself. One lady thought the pictures were so cute, that she went and made copies of them. ;)


Here is her talk written out with the pictures...

"Before I came to Earth, I lived in Heaven with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ."



"When I came to Earth, I became part of a family."


"This is my mom. She loves me and takes care of me. She plays Bingo with me."


"This is my dad. He loves me and takes care of me too. He wrestles with me."



"This is my baby brother Sam. I like to play with him and make him laugh. We are good friends."



"This is me. I am happy that I have a family, and that I get to be with them forever."



In order to hear Mary in the video, you need to pause the music already playing on the blog.


Mary looked so cute and it has been fun to watch her draw the pictures and to talk to her about how our family will be together FOREVER. She has been so happy with this knowledge and her testimony keeps on glowing brighter as her knowledge of this wonderful Gospel increases over time. What an angel she is in our lives. I love my little girl!!!!!!

Love Language

As most of us know, we all have our ways of expressing and feeling love. AKA "love languages." Some people need words, some people need touch, some people need gifts, some people like acts of service, to others it is spending time, ect. We can even have more than one love language.
We learn that in marriage, it is always good to know your spouses love language, and speak it to them. Even if it isn't your own. We tend to try to speak our own love language to others, because it is more natural. But when we learn to figure out someone else's language and speak that one to them, we can really touch hearts and lift spirits.
My love language has always been acts of service and gifts. Something about these just really touches me and makes me all warm and fuzzy inside. It means so much to me that someone would take the time to think of me, and take the time to make something or do something or go get something, and then take the time to bring it to me. For whatever reason, that just really speaks love to my heart and makes me feel so special and uplifted.
The other day, Ben came home with these for me. I took the picture today, so the greenery is already wilting, but you can see how beautiful the roses are. He really knows how to make a girl smile!


And last night, this was left on the doorstep by a very wonderful and thoughtful friend who not only sincerely asked me how I was really doing, but then took the time to listen, and then make this wonderful treat for Ben and I and leave in on the doorstep late that night. Talk about a good friend!


I also had a friend offer several times to take the kids, and then open up her Saturday, at noon of all times, to allow Ben and I to go on a date and take a breath of air. She has kids and a husband of her own, who I am sure she had plans with that day, but she took the time out for me. What a kind act of service!

I feel so blessed to be surrounded by people who love me and who really care about me, especially when family is so far away. It means so much!

This week has been leaps and bounds better than last week, but these kind acts from kind people just added the icing to the cake!

On another note, I AM SO EXCITED FOR FRIDAY!!!! I have another rockin' awesome Mary Kay Party planned that evening over here. It is going to be so much fun! I really do LOVE this business and it is so exciting for me to be getting it up and running here in Colorado!!! I had so much fun with it in California, and I have missed it since we moved. I am more than ready to jump back into it, now that we are all settled. I have no doubt it will be just as much fun here.
I already have 7 RSVP's from people that are coming, so it will be great!

p.s. If you are reading this blog, and you live here and know me, you are more than welcome to join us on Friday. The more the merrier! However, if you live here, and you know me, you have probably already been invited...check your mail. ;)

Side Note

Just so I don't have to say it in every post...you might as well just turn up the volume any time you check out our blog. I get a kick out of finding songs that match the posts for some reason. Cheap thrills, but I think it is fun. Enjoy!

p.s. I just found the PERFECT song for the last post I did about Sam jumping.

Jumping Bean

Turn up the volume for this one, it makes it more fun!

SEE SAM

See Sam jump!

See Sam climb!

See Sam jump on the bed.


See Sam jump over FOUR stairs.


See Sam climb onto the dining table.


See Sam jump off the nice table.


See Sam jump off the chair.


See Sam stand on the white handles of the rocking horse and jump off. (not shown in picture, but it is the same horse)


See Sam jump from one rocking horse to the next.


See Sam climb on train table and jump off.


See Sam after a long day of jumping and climbing.


See Sam crack his head open TWICE in one week.
See Sam bite through his tongue and smash his nose into the couch. (same week)
See Sam bleed all over moms new Adidas jacket she got for Christmas.

See Sam grin from ear to ear when he sticks a landing, and try it all over again.

See us love Sam so much.
Sam is great!

Looking up

Thanks to all of you for your kind comments, support, willingness to take our kids so we could go on a date for a much needed break, and for your advise. It feels good to be surrounded with so much love from people we care about and love.

The past day and 1/2 have been sooooooo much better. Hooray! Life is getting back on track. We just needed to get into the groove of our new challenges and figure out the best ways to deal with them. We found our groove and now we are moving onward...much happier I must say.
Life threw us several curve balls all out once, some made public, some private, but either way, they were very rough ones. I am just so grateful that a merciful Lord has shown us the way to help our burdens feel lighter and has given us hearts full of hope and encouragement.
I am going into this next week with an uplifted spirit and gladness in my heart. And man, it feels so good!!!!! The past day and 1/2 I have felt so much relief and comfort. I know that the worst is over. I feel such a huge burden lifted, or at least much much lighter. Last week is behind us, we learned, we suffered, and we cried (well, I did), but we were able to rise above and become stronger from it, and that is what counts. I couldn't ask for a better husband and companion to go through this journey with. He truly is a remarkable man!
With that said, life will go on, and will go on stronger and better than before.