Bren's Haircut (No Appointment Needed!)

There comes a time in every parent's life when their child does one of those things that ALL kids do. I remember a few weeks ago, a facebook friend documented her little girl cutting her own hair. I recall thinking how nice it is that my girls have never tried that.


Until now.



Bren was in her room cleaning (which is something she never does by herself). I walk in and the first thing I see is a pile of hair and scissors...



followed by more hair...


This is what Bren looks like. She said "I told you I needed a haircut, Mom!" Luckily, she had a ponytail on top that covers up most of the damage. And she cut the same look on both sides which I feel shows that she knows it has to be even! :-)



But, of course, we had to document this event when Bren did the "typical kid thing."

Winter Photo Shoot

Since I'm home with a sick Brenna today, I saw this as a great chance to do some cleaning and post on the family blog.

Black Friday, Jess and I found these cute coats at Gymboree for an AMAZING deal (I'm sure I've told most of you all about the $15 I paid for these coats). I wanted to take some pictures of the girls out in the snow with these coats. 3 months later, we finally got the snow we needed.

We had a fun morning driving around Adel finding some great spots. We saw 200 geese and a bald eagle flying around by the soccer fields. It was an amazing sight!

Love these girls more than life itself!


Brenna looks too innocent in these pictures; don't let her fool you!
Ms. Alexa with her sass!

And of course, some goofy ones!

A Bittersweet Morning

Today started like most other mornings. Bren came into my room around 5:45 and asked for cartoons. I got ready while she entertained herself and patiently waited for "Sissy" to get up. Breakfast was next on the to-do list: Chocolate chip waffles for Lexi and Regular for Bren.

The day turned unusual when we had to get dressed. Lexi, for some reason, wanted to wear a dress. And, usually, whenever Lexi wears a dress, Bren must follow. The only thing was that Bren doesn't have any dresses that aren't completely "summery". I was just about to tell her that I didn't have a dress for her to wear, when I saw "The Tote."

To all you mothers out there, you know how important and exciting "The Tote" can be. When discussing this with another teacher, she told me she thinks of "The Tote" as shopping. It's a great chance to reminisce about your older daughter's old clothes while finding new outfits for your younger daughter. I begin digging through the tote looking for a dress with leggings that Bren could sport today.

The dress she chose was one that brought back many memories. When Brenna was born, one of my aunts got them matching dresses. I loved putting them in those dresses! Bren today was wearing the one that Lexi was fitting into when Bren was born. All these thoughts came flooding into my head: my baby is wearing the big sister clothing!

I had this bittersweet feeling hit me. My baby is no longer a baby? Do I miss little babies and all that comes with them? Now that we are out of the baby stage, do we really want to dive back in?

If you would have asked them this morning, I may have actually considered it. I may have "slipped" and said I wanted another baby.

But reality set it....there is no way I want to go back to diapers, formula, and having someone be 100% dependent on me. I love my kids and want to enjoy every minute with them as they continue to grow up right before my eyes!

Here are the pictures of Bren wearing Lexi's dress (I'll look for pictures of them together wearing the matching dresses to compare!)


Pretty Girl!


Notice her pretty Jewelry? Thanks Jessica Bellinghausen!
My two big girls!
Bren is always willing to share the love! (Lexi, not so much!)

First Snow of the Year!

It was predicted that we would receive maybe an inch or two in Adel last night....and they were right! We woke up to a winter wonderland. Both girls were jumping up and down at the sight of the fluffy new snow. For me, the ONLY benefit to snow is if there is enough to get a snow day. In Iowa, 2-3 inches doesn't quite cut it...so we were on our way to school.

As I watched their faces light up as they talked about the snow, I remembered what that first snow was like as a child. You want nothing more than to jump in it...build a fort....throw a snowball.

Forecasters had also predicted that most of it would be gone before the afternoon. I felt awful telling Lexi that the chances of her getting to play in that first snow were slim. So we rushed through breakfast just to get about 10 minutes of play time in that first snow. I apologize now to Ms. Wolf and the other Adel Elementary teachers for sending Lexi soaking wet to school. But by looking at the smile on her face, it was all worth it!



Cutest Picture in a long time! Look at the love!


1st snow angels of the year!

My Daughter.... A Cheerleader?

For anyone who knew me in high school, my life revolved around sports. Competition and the desire to win has been burned into my veins; it's apparent when I play Rec Volleyball.

After the birth of Lexi, I remember thinking that I couldn't wait for her to play sports and for me to be the proud mama in the crowd. She's fast= track. She can jump= volleyball. Good hand/eye coordination= soccer.

I wasn't prepared for the day when Lexi brought home a flyer from school for a cheerleading camp and said she wanted to go. What? My daughter, a cheerleader? How did that happen?

After watching her practice her little cheers and her dance, I saw the same passion I had for sports show up on her face while cheering. I realized it doesn't matter what she does during her school years. I just want her to be involved and be happy. As long as she is that, I will be the proud mama in the crowd.

And there's always Cheerleading competitions, right? :-)

Here are a few pictures of her performing during halftime at a Tigers Football game:





Red. Black. Red. Black. Wh-wh-wh-wh-white!




She caught me! :-)n

Welcome back to Blogging, Seidl!

I'm back. I promise. When I started this blog, I was excited to post something regularly. But with every 'new' thing, the newness faded and I saw it as something I "should" do that I didn't have the time for.
Last week, we finished putting in the last of our windows for the "Seidl House Renovation". I know, we started that project in May and here we are at the end of September, but they are done (more to come on that topic.) But as I was taking pictures to document the day, Chris says, "Now you have pictures to post to that blog of yours that you never update." Which brings me back into the blogging scene.
I feel that I have very good excuses for my blogging absence. School started. And with school starting, I have picked up two new classes and a new extra-curricular activity, color guard. Add that to speech, volleyball, and all of my other obligations, my life has been pretty crazy.
But, "excuses, excuses" are over. I am ready to try and devote myself to this blog and posting at least once a week. Too many good things are happening in my life and I feel the need to let everyone know. For example:
Yesterday, we were sitting down for lunch. On the menu: Taco Salads. Since Bren is still a little messy while eating, I decided it was the best idea to take her shirt off so I wouldn't have ground taco meat running down the front of it (other moms: I know you do this too, right?) I was cleaning much of the morning and I cannot clean without the radio on. I thought it was a good idea to leave the radio on instead of turning the TV on. Brenna was working on her taco salad when a song with a great beat came on and she couldn't control herself. She began to sway back and forth, bobbing her head, and announced to the table, "Mom, I dance so much better without my shirt on!"
As smiles spread across our faces, she continues to rock on. Without missing a beat, she adds, "This is amazing. I'm taking my pants off, too!"
Moral of this story: #1: I need to let others into the interesting world of the Seidl home and #2: Begin focusing on Career choices for Bren that don't involve dancing and taking off her clothes. :)

Windows: Part 1

The Seidl household remodeling has begun. Was I nervous? Very! Jen and I had started the day out with a little shopping. On our way home, we get this picture with the caption: "What? A Hole?!?"





This is where our patio door was. After 2 days, a few funny pranks played on me and 3 trips to Menards, we got the door and 2 windows in. 1/3 of the way done! It was a relief to have the project go smoothly. I am in love with my sliding door--I've only walked into the screen slider 3 times! Here are some more pictures from the project!