Mommy Brain

Wow.. It’s been a long time since I updated here. I thought a while about closing the site down, but it seems like starting it back up is an order! We’ve since moved away from all of our family and friends in California and are now across the country in beautiful NC. It’s very different here. There’s not so much concrete, trees are abundant, and neighbors aren’t close enough to look directly into your house. We’re even close to the beach!!! We have friends here that we’ve knownThere are so many cool things about this place that I know we’re going to love. It’s just that one thing that keeps tugging at my heart.. We’re an entire country away from our family. I do hope that eventually, everyone will get a chance to visit us, and enjoy some of the NC fresh air… Yeah.. not so much pollution here either…

Please stay tuned for the latest and greatest of the Brady family. I’ll keep you updated on all the cool (and boring) things we may do so you can sorta feel like you’re still near us. This site may go through some changes, but don’t worry… It’s just me working things out with the internet.

In the meanwhile, feel free to check out and enjoy some of the latest photos we’ve taken. They all allow comments, so please, tell us what you think!

Mommy Brain Family Cross Country Move

Easter 2009- our first weekend in NC

Playing in the Back Yard (YES! We have a yard!)

Things have been so hectic. I haven’t had much time to be on here! I feel bad!  But know that good things are coming! I’m going to be on TV in the next week.. two TV morning shows actually… I’m so excited! 

This week is super crazy… Actually this month is.. The girls turned 3 today, and they’ve had a long and fun birthday… First we took them to Toys R Us for their little celebration. They got a card in the mail since they’re part of Geoffrey’s Birthday Club.. and they got balloons and a crown at TRU.. Then we took them shopping for a special toy. After that we went to Costco and got some thing to eat, and then went shopping for groceries, and some birthday party goodies… Next we went to Bel Air, and they got a free cookie at the bakery. 

Once we finally got home, they took a nap, and when they woke up, we put together their Easy Bake Oven and let them each bake a cake… They loved it!

Overall it was a super fun day… and now we can’t wait till their party this weekend!!! 

Thanks for stopping by!

There are so many times, that I love being a mommy.. Whenever they smile at me, run up to me and give me a hug, ask me to read them a book, or just sit and watch a movie with them. Lately though, the biggest part I love is when they run up to me, nearly knocking me over, throw their arms around me, giving me a kiss and a huge hug, and then say “I love you Mommy!”… I seriously just want to cry. They are growing up so quickly!

So.. I won a contest on CBS13 this past week. They had a raffle of sorts for tickets to Disney on Ice Princess Wishes… and I WON!!! We got 40 tickets.. yes 40 tickets to the show! We also got to attend a pre show “party” with a meet and greet with Belle & Cinderella! It was awesome! The girls were SOOOO Excited! We were able to invite a bunch of friends, and they all had a great time!We all got there around 5pm, went upstairs to the restaurant where we ate corn dogs, hot dogs, chips, and cookies. We had a great time watching the performers practice on the ice, and then Cinderella and Belle came up to see us! We all got to take pictures with them, and shake their hands. The girls were just in awe… They actually got to meet their favorite princesses!It was a night to remember for sure! I’ll post the pics and vids to the gallery asap!

Well.. shucks.. it’s been a while.. Valentine’s Day is coming up, and we have been really trying to figure out what we’re going to give daddy. I think I got it.. finally.. It’s definitely going to be something crafty, since the girls LOVE making things… I just can’t tell you until Daddy opens it up Thursday morning!!! Don’t you just hate the suspense? LOL..

Ok… I think my kids can read… The other night, as I was drying the girls’ hair after bath, Alexandra picked up a printer test sheet from my vanity and very loudly announced that it was “UBUNTU MOMMY!!!” I was just staring at her.. pretty much in shock. I was laughing! I turned to Daddy and just asked “Did you hear her?” He couldn’t believe it either. So we asked her one more time.. “What does that say honey?”, and she said it again.. “It’s Ubuntu!” Is my daughter really reading???

Just on a whim, we thought, maybe it’s the logo, or the font that they’re recognizing? Just in case, we grabbed one of Daddy’s programming books that didn’t have the logo on the front, and it had a completely different font. We asked her again, and sure enough, she said it was Ubuntu! Since there were other words on the front, we asked her to show us where it said Ubuntu, and she pointed to the correct word. Ok, we just had to check out Victoria. So we grab one of Daddy’s other books and asked her what it said. She read “Ruby”. WOW! So, we asked her to show us the word, just in case it was just a guess, and yes, she pointed to the correct word..

Hmmmm.. So all of our reading together is actually working!!! Oh.. and the fact that their first words that they actually read were Ubuntu and Ruby proves.. GEEKS!!! But, they’re super cute geeks aren’t they?!?!?!

Victoria: What are you doing?

Alexandra: I’m typing my email

Victoria: You’re typing your email?

Alexandra: yeah I’m typing my email.

Victoria: So… you’re typing your email?

Alexandra: Yeah I’m typing my email to Mommy.

I have geeks!!! I love it!!!

Just in case anyone didn’t know (because I didn’t until this morning) I wanted to let you guys know that Linens & Things accepts EXPIRED coupons!!!!

I’m sure you already knew this, but they also accept Competitors (read: Bed Bath & Beyond) coupons..

I think it’s awesome! It made for a great shopping trip for us this morning!

Also: Google Linens & Things coupon… and you’ll find click & print coupons!!!! I got 20% off one item and 20% off entire purchase coupons off the web.. and they take them!

WOW!!!

Just thought I’d share

This Christmas morning will be forever ingrained into my memory as one of the best Christmases ever! We woke up around 720am, and came downstairs to Auntie C, Uncle B, Aunt B, Uncle K, Meemaw & Peepaw all waiting for the girls.. Gma T came just a short bit later. The girls were still sawing logs. It was so funny. We finally woke them up around 8am, once everyone was here and ready… We got Victoria up first, and then she wanted to wake her sister up, so we put her in sister’s crib. She started rubbing her sister’s hair and cheek, I was just so in awe of how gentle she was when she woke her up. It was so sweet.

Once Alexandra was up, we changed them, and brought them down the stairs. Everyone was waiting for them. We had covered their Kitchen with a blanket so they could “unwrap it” easily. It was funny when they saw this huge thing in their playroom and everyone standing around it. They walked down the stairs, and walked up to it slowly and just kinda stared for a moment. Then Alexandra thought she’d peek around the back side of it to see what it was. we stopped her and told her and Victoria to come around the front and pull the blanket off. They did, and boy did their eyes light up when they saw what it was. They immediately started playing with everything in there. They inspected all of the cubbys and cabinets. They didn’t seem to want to leave their kitchen! Little did they know what was still in store for them!

We finally talked them into going into the Christmas Tree/Present room. We told them that they had a huge pile of presents to open up, and they ran. They opened up box after box. There was wrapping paper everywhere when we were all done, despite attempts to keep all the gift wrap in garbage bags as the gifts were opened…

After all was said and done, they got their kitchen, a Hoover Vacuum Cleaner, a Mr. Clean Play Cleaning set, and a shopping cart. They each got a Kid Tough Digital Camera, UCSB hoodie sweatshirts, and a princess doll from Disney, one Ariel and one Cinderella. They also got the Disney Princess Tea Cart Set, a couple of outfits, and some bath towel sets. Another popular toy they got a couple each of is the Mushabelly Mushkins.. They seriously made out like bandits. Spoiled little girls… and they are sooooo worth it!

All they did the rest of the day was run around and play with absolutely everything for a few minutes at a time. I think they each took close to 100 photos with their cameras, and spread out play food everywhere in the house. They served “coffee and tea” to everyone at least 3 times with their cart, and finally just wanted to crash among their toys. They were so darn cute!

This year was the first year they really “got” Christmas as far as Santa and presents go. I can’t wait to teach them a little more about the religious background to Christmas next year.

Wow! It’s already Christmas Eve… and even Christmas Eve is almost over! It’s 11:25pm… and I’m not even sleeping… Do you think Santa will bring me my presents? LOL

It’s been such a crazy day. We woke up fairly early today. Daddy took the girls downstairs and made breakfast, while I took off to the store. I needed to find the girls some tights to wear with their dresses. I stopped at Kohls, and couldn’t find anything there. The place looked like it had been ran through a few times over. I figured I’d head out to Target to see if I could fund anything there. I was on the phone with my mom (yes i was using a hands free!) and told her what I was looking for. It just so happened that my dad and sister were out at the mall.. those crazy cats… They found the tights out there for me! PHEW! I didn’t have to brave Target! Just driving into the parking lot scared me… It was PACKED! So, I headed on home… no, wait.. I had to stop at the grocery store. Bel Air was hopping! I grabbed a few things that we needed for today, and a few things for tomorrow, and then, finally, went home.

I got home, and the girls were running around. They were just so cute running up and giving me hugs. I felt like I won a medal or something. Daddy had been cleaning up the house, getting it ready for all of our visitors over the next few days. There was so much to do, and not enough time to do it. We had to get everything done before 2pm. Basically the schedule was, up at 730, clean till noon. Make the girls’ lunch at noon, get them in bed asap. Let them nap till 2ish… Wake them up, change them and run to Church for the Christmas Eve service, run back to the grocery store, then home for dinner with Grandma T. Santa was scheduled to show up sometime between 730 and 8pm, and then it was time to get the girls in bed and put their Christmas Present together and bring the rest of the gifts out and put them under the tree.

Well, we got it all done! Santa was actually a big hit this year! Alexandra seemed to be a little afraid at first, but as the time with Santa went on, she seemed to really like him. Then, when he went to leave, she actually started crying. It was so cute!

Here I sit, at 1230am on the play room floor. Daddy is wrapping some last minute presents, Auntie C & Uncle B are asleep upstairs, Auntie B & Uncle K are in the living room watching the Simpsons Movie, or asleep on the couch.. not sure which, since I’m not allowed in that room…. But, I’m falling asleep.. I think I’ll sign off for now… I’ll write more tomorrow! There’s going to be so much to tell about the girls opening their presents!!!

Merry Christmas EVERYONE!!!